More donations pour in for frontliners in fight vs COVID-19
MANILA, Philippines— The COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring out the best in Filipinos, with donations pouring in to help front-line health workers, displaced employees and small businesses weather the 30-day lockdown imposed on Luzon to slow down the spread of the new coronavirus.
Aside from rent condonation in its malls, Ayala group’s response package is estimated to total P2.4 billion in wages, bonuses, leave conversions and loan deferments to help out its employees and workers during the monthlong lockdown.
Gokongwei-led property developer Robinsons Land Corp. meanwhile set aside a P100-million fund from the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation to help combat COVID-19.
The SM group similarly earmarked P100 million to provide protective equipment and supplies to medical personnel.
For PLDT and Meralco employees, business tycoon Manuel Pangilinan has approved the advance disbursement of their 13th month pay, as well as a support package that includes vitamins and alcohol.
San Miguel Corp. and Alliance Global Group, which both own distilleries, have started producing and donating disinfectant ethyl alcohol to augment the needs of hospitals and local government units (LGUs). Aside from 13,000 units of its own “Protect Plus Gold” powdered disinfectant, SMC continues to deliver food to LGUs throughout the Metro.
The Asian Development Bank has made available a total of $6.5 billion in financial assistance to both public and private sectors of its developing member-countries, including the Philippines. It has also given a $3-million grant to the Department of Health (DOH) for additional medical supplies and equipment.
The Villar family meanwhile donated the first batch of disinfecting apparatus to nine government hospitals in Metro Manila, some 200,000 face masks and a daily supply of bottled water to government through the DOH.
At the House of Representatives, the Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc. donated some P5 million-worth of protective gear for distribution to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, as well as health workers in 21 government and private hospitals.
The Chinese government said it was donating some 100,000 test kits, 100,000 surgical masks, 10,000 N95 masks, and 10,000 sets of personal protective equipment to help medical front-liners. But Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. said its initial 20,000 testing kits could not be used because it did not send the primers that come with each kit.
In Metro Manila hospitals, meanwhile, medical personnel said that aside from protective gear, they also need breaks and forced work leaves so they could be tested because of their exposure to positive patients.
Suzette Diploma, neonatology fellow in charge of the Human Milk Bank of the East Avenue Medical Center, said breast milk was also needed for sickly babies as some mothers could not travel from their homes because of the lack of transport.
Despite the lack of personnel and supplies, over 100 interns at the Philippine General Hospital in Manila volunteered to go back on duty to help patients and remaining health care workers in the hospital.
—Reports from Doris Dumlao-Abadilla, Ben O. de Vera, Melvin Gascon, Dona Z. Pazzibugan and Jodee A. Agoncillo
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For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare frontliners and is still accepting cash donations to be deposited at Banco de Oro (BDO) current account #007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link.
