THE National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) chipped in P5 million to the multi-sectoral initiative to feed poor households in Metro Manila who are affected by the measures to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
The privately owned firm on Thursday said it turned over 10,000 grocery vouchers to the Project Ugnayan, an initiative mounted by the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation along with some of the country’s biggest business groups.
The project, which started in March, seeks to reach over a million poor families around the National Capital Region whose livelihoods are affected by the enhanced community quarantine.
This latest donation came on top of NGCP’s P1-billion worth of assistance it earlier pledged to the government to aid in its COVID-19 relief efforts. It includes donations of medical equipment, protective gear, as well as food packs.
NGCP is led by majority shareholders Henry T. Sy, Jr. and Robert G. Coyiuto, Jr.
Separately, the Villar group said the Bataan General Hospital and the PICC quarantine facility had received and installed the disinfecting apparatus from companies led by Manuel B. Villar, Jr. as cleared by the Department of Health.
This followed nine other hospitals that received the disinfecting apparatus donated by Mr. Villar and his group, namely: Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Alabang; Las Piñas General Hospital, and Don Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Caloocan; Rizal Medical Center in Pasig; Quirino Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center and Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City; and San Lazaro Hospital and Santa Ana Hospital in Manila
The conversion of the PICC forum halls into COVID-19 monitoring and treatment facility that will cater to patients with mild to moderate cases was facilitated by Mr. Villar’s group, Department of Public Works and Highways, and EEI Corp.
The PICC quarantine facility was turned over to the Philippine National Police medical corps, which will manage the health service operation.
Meanwhile, the Aboitiz group reported that it donated P216.4 million so far to various efforts to assist those in the frontline of the fight against COVID-19, which has sickened over 5,000 Filipinos as of late.
A huge chunk of the Aboitiz’s donations, or P100 million, was delivered to Project Ugnayan.
Also on Thursday, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said it continues to look for more opportunities to help as its donation to COVID-19 efforts reaches almost P1 billion.
It said more areas outside Metro Manila are benefiting from SMC’s assistance to COVID-19 initiatives, which it placed at P947.7 million, as the company continues to find ways to bring relief to the hardest hit communities and provinces.
Ramon S. Ang, SMC president and chief operating officer, said the company has responded to calls for assistance from local government units outside the National Capital Region, including the provinces of Iloilo and Leyte.
“Our people are working hard to be able to extend our assistance to more provinces and communities and to support our national government’s efforts. Our goal is to help keep our countrymen away from hunger and illness, and somehow, in our own way, give them hope during this difficult time,” Mr. Ang said.
