Image: Facebook/@MMSUofficial
MANILA, Philippines—The Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Batac, Ilocos Norte is doing its part in the fight against the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic by handing out essential items and cash aid to frontliners and students stranded in dormitories due to the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
The MMSU on Wednesday gave P500 each to 114 students for a total of P57,000. The amount should last the students for a week as the university awaits its suppliers to restock goods, the MMSU said in a release on the same day.
The university said it has been closely monitoring the students since the start of the ECQ, and have established a food rationing program and offers online counseling services and psychosocial support during the crisis.
The cash donation mainly came from donations of the faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering, according to the MMSU. Several colleges in the said university and an alumni group have also launched a fundraising drive for students and frontliners.
The MMSU also extended its helping hand outside of its borders by providing face masks and “Nipahol,” alcohol made from Nipa sap, to frontliners in Laoag City and several other local government units in the region.
Nipahol was created by researchers from the MMSU’s National Bioenergy Research and Innovation Center and is the university’s “response to the low supply of alcohol in the market amid the COVID-19 crisis.”
“Nipahol is 70% ethyl alcohol formulated from MMSU’s 95% alcohol, a product of the university’s research initiatives on ethanol running for more than a decade now,” the MMSU said in a Facebook post.
As of April 3, the MMSU has produced around 2,200 liters of Nipahol and pledges to produce around 200 to 300 liters per week. The university’s efforts in the fight against the pandemic is part of its “Saranay Against COVID-19” program.