PANDEMIC RELIEF BRIEFS

SMC sets up strict safety protocols for office-bound employees

San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has put in place stringent protocols to ensure a safe workplace for office-bound employees physically reporting for work starting the first week of this month following Metro Manila’s transition to general community quarantine.

SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said in a statement that PCR-testing for the company’s employees is now in full swing nationwide, and added that health protocols have already been established and implemented in all their facilities.

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Ang said that majority of their office employees still work from home as only 20 percent are required to report to the office under the existing skeletal work arrangement. Only employees who have tested negative for Covid-19 are given a badge which serves as access pass to be allowed entry to the office premises.

Ang assured employees that their health insurance cards, as well as those of their family members’, are more than enough to cover various illnesses, including Covid-19.

At the SMC headquarters, every returning employee is also provided a face mask, face shield, and ethyl alcohol. Installed in various areas are hand washing facilities, thermal scanners, foot bath, and a disinfection chamber that checks the temperature and automatically dispenses sanitizer.

Other health protocols are to be fully enforced.

Employees have also been advised to bring their own food and beverages, including cutlery and tableware, as the office cafeteria and food kiosks will remain closed.

Before the shift to general community quarantine, SMC was already building its own Covid-19 testing facility and laboratory to test 70,000 employees and workers in its network.

Aboitiz Group bolsters economic support for customersclients

The Aboitiz Group is sustaining the economic lifeline it has previously extended to its business units’ customers and clients as most areas in the country entered general community and modified general community quarantines (GCQ & MGCQ) beginning June 1.

“As #OneAboitiz, we will continue to offer support to our customers and clients nationwide as we all navigate this “new normal” and prepare for the gradual resumption of business and overall economic activity once this crisis is over,” said Sabin  Aboitiz, Aboitiz Group President and CEO.

Aboitiz Power Corp., which operates various power generation and power distribution facilities nationwide. , announced that its sites will remain operational.

Bank on Wheels

Union Bank of the Philippines, meanwhile, has extended loan payment deadlines (including credit card, housing, and automobile loans) and the waiving of online InstaPay transfer fees via the UnionBank Online app until June 15. Via its financial technology arm UBX, UnionBank has also offered loans to small businesses coping with the impact of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ)-related measures.

During the early part of the ECQ, UnionBank announced an upgrade of its existing online app to enable users to directly transfer funds nationwide to remittance centers such as Cebuana Lhuiller, LBC, PERA HUB, and Palawan Express. This feature continues to be useful for clients who may need to transfer funds in areas under MECQ or GCQ.

UnionBank’s “Bank On Wheels” goes around Metro Manila to serve the public’s banking needs amid COVID-19.

UnionBank has also continued to deploy its 5G-enabled mobile banking kiosk “Bank on Wheels” to various parts of Metro Manila.

UnionBank subsidiary CitySavings has extended 30-day grace period for loan due dates falling within the ECQ and modified ECQ periods in compliance with the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.

Pilmico ensures production, delivery of food products. Pilmico Foods Corp.  is addressing the demand for food products in select areas in Metro Manila through its homegrown retail, wholesale, and solutions brand “The Good Meat.” Pilmico has ensured unhampered production in its flour, farms, and feeds facilities to contribute to food sustainability in the country.

Lima Water committed to well-maintained wastewater facilities. Lima Water Corp. is ramping up its operations in Lima Technology Center with the imposition of GCQ in Batangas.

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To support the ramp-up of locators’ water demand as quarantine measures relax, Lima Water has been constantly ensuring that its water and wastewater facilities within the industrial park are well-maintained and ready for adjustment.

AboitizLand’s commercial establishments, The Outlets at Lipa in Batangas and The Outlets at Pueblo Verde in Cebu, have reopened to serve community needs following local GCQ directives. Retail shops are now open implementing strict safety measures and social distancing protocols. Restaurants also remain open, offering delivery and take-out transactions only.

Aboitiz Construction Inc.’s customers continue to do business with the company via video conferencing, chat applications, and other multiple digital tools. In preparation for the resumption of work in project sites, Aboitiz Construction has implemented strict safety protocols to ensure that all stakeholders and team members are protected from the virus.

MPIF donates PPE kits to Mindanao hospitals

Mayor Beng Climaco of Zamboanga City (center) receives 100 full PPE kits on behalf of the Zamboanga City Jail and the Zamboanga Economic Zone Quarantine Facility

 Over 1,000 frontliners from several hospitals, medical institutions, and local government units in Mindanao, were provided with complete sets of personal protective equipment to ensure their safety as they fight against the CoViD-19 pandemic.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp.  (MPIC), through its corporate social responsibility arm, Metro Pacific Investments Foundation (MPIF), donated 1,000 full PPE kits to Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital in General Santos City, Cotabato Regional Medical Center, Bishop Joseph Regan Memorial Hospital in Tagum, Kidapawan Doctors Hospital, Zamboanga City Medical Center, South Cotabato Provincial Hospital in Koronadal, and Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro City, as well as the local government units of Butuan City, the Province of Agusan del Norte, and the Province of Surigao del Norte, through its four Mindanao hospitals.

Since the early days of the pandemic, MPIC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan has recognized the immediate need to increase the PPE supply, mobilizing companies in the group to supplement these needs to prioritize the health and safety of Metro Pacific hospitals’ health workers. With the rise of cases in Mindanao, the group has decided to expand its supply reach to hospitals outside its network as well.

Through PLDT’s logistical resources, the PPE kits were flown to Mindanao and delivered to the four hospitals. Each kit included a surgical face mask, an N95 facemask, a disposable head cap, disposable shoe covers, a disposable surgical gown and a pair of anti-fog goggles or a faceshield.

“Our chairman, Manuel V. Pangilinan ensured that hospitals within the Metro Pacific Hospital Group are prepared and fully protected in facing the pandemic,” MPIF president Melody del Rosario said.

“We are extremely thankful that companies in the MVP Group are taking the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic head-on,” says Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco.

Dr. Jose Chan, the head of Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC), Cagayan de Oro City’s COVID center, said “This donation provided a huge boost of morale to our frontliners.”

Providing PPEs to hospitals and healthcare centers are among the many initiatives that the MPIC group has mobilized. As of this month, the group has already implemented over P348M in relief efforts against CoViD-19.

UP Medical Foundation, TOWNS Foundation,
Security Bank partner for PPE funding

As a continued response to the threats of COVID-19, Security Bank has donated Personal Protective Equipment to ten (10) public hospitals nationwide to help the Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) Foundation in protecting frontliners.

Medical frontliners of Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center receive Personal Protective Equipment from Security Bank through the Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) Foundation and the UP Medical Foundation.

“The UP Medical Foundation and TOWNS Foundation believe that to be human is to actively reach out and help. Our partnership with Security Bank would surely help in attaining our common goal, the goal of having our healthcare workers equipped for battle against COVID-19,” said President of UP Medical Foundation, Dr. Paulo Pagkatipunan M.D.“Our medical professionals and healthcare workers carry the heaviest burden in this fight against the pandemic. Needless to say, we cannot engage them to war with this unseen enemy without adequate ammunition and protection,” says Olivia Ferry, TOWNS Foundation president.

Since the start of the enhanced community quarantine, Security Bank has helped Filipinos get better through its medical aid programs. Security Bank helps St. Luke’s Medical Center boost the immunity of indigent patients through Convalescent Plasma Treatment. The Bank supports the Philippine National Red Cross in transporting, testing, and treating COVID-19 patients through its ambulance and molecular laboratory (in Cebu) donations. SBC also assists Manila HealthTek with the production and distribution of test kits through its Treasury Group’s Deals for Donation program.

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