P500M aid program, PPEs and beverages, free fuel, loaned cars, home appliances, sweet treats, fast connectivity
Nestlé Philippines is implementing a P500-million program to assist one million families and thousands of frontliners, others in need of health care, and its own employees and those of its business partners.
Through Kasambuhay ng Pamilyang Pilipino, Nestle is providing Kasambuhay kits consisting of Nescafe, Milo, Bear Brand Fortified, Koko Krunch, Chuckie and Maggi products to one million families nationwide.
The company is working with local government units (LGUs) and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) for the distribution.
Nestlé employees and those of its business partners are being provided with various forms of support. Additionally, Nestlé Philippines employees have voluntarily raised funds supplemented by the company which will be turned over as gratitude allowances to business partners’ frontliners.
“As the Kasambuhay ng Pamilyang Pilipino, we are pursuing the Nestlé purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future, which we believe becomes even more relevant during this challenging and difficult time,” said Kais Marzouki, Nestlé Philippines chairman and chief executive officer .
Nestlé Philippines has also cntributed P10 million to the Philippine Red Cross to help fund the setting up of a testing laboratory, and the purchase of medical tents, personal protective equipment, test kits, ventilators, respirators, surgical masks, and other essential health equipment.
Stronger together
Following its announcement on March 20 to re-channel P150 million of its advertising budget toward COVID-19 relief efforts, the Coca-Cola system immediately mobilized the provision of personal protective equipment (PPEs) for frontline responders, the distribution of food packs to vulnerable communities, and the delivery of beverages to hospitals, national government agencies local government units and non-government organizations.
More than 46,000 medical workers in 305 medical institutions have so far been provided with PPEs, a significant portion of which was coursed through the TOWNS Foundation, UP Medical Foundation and the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation.
Working together with Caritas Manila, McDonald’s, Rise Against Hunger-PH, Philippines Business for Social Progress andJollibee Foundation, Coca-Cola has delivered over 5,000 food packs and is committed to reaching 30,000 more families in the coming days.
Coca-Cola, since March 20, has distributed over 400,000 litres of beverages to various frontline organizations–including 125 public and private medical institutions, the AFP, the PNP, several government agencies, local government units across the country, and different civic organizations–as well as vulnerable communities.
The company will also be providing beverages to quarantine facilities the government will be establishing, in partnership with the PDRF. The first batch of these deliveries has been made to the PICC and the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Coca-Cola coolers will be installed in the command center of these facilities.
Cars for frontliners
Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) has provided 15 cars on loan to medical frontliners who are battling the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
HCPI provided various models of the cars comprising of the City, Brio, Jazz, Mobilio, BR-V, HR-V, and CR-V models, to doctors and nurses of various hospitals including: the New Sinai MDI Hospital in Tagapo, Santa Rosa, Laguna; The Medical City South Luzon in Santa Rosa, Laguna; Unihealth-Southwoods Hospital and Medical Center in Biñan, Laguna; Westlake Medical Center in San Pedro, Laguna; and, the Carmona Hospital and Medical Center in Carmona, Cavite.
Honda will be providing each car with free gasoline good for one month.
Communication assistance
COVID wards of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) are now using mobile phones provided by PLDT wireless subsidiary Smart Communications as “personal protective equipment.”
Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) has also granted communication assistance to frontliners working with the Laguna provincial government amid the province’s COVID-19 response. Smart recently turned over smartphones with SIMs and e-load to support Laguna’s security and medical frontliners’ communication needs.
Previously, PLDT-Smart has extended communications assistance to local government units and hospital in Laguna, as well as the Department of Health (DOH), the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine General Hospital, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the Department of Transportation.
Fast, free and reliable 24/7 Smart WiFi has also been deployed in newly activated facilities for COVID-19 patients, as well as in campuses that are housing COVID-19 frontliners.
Smart has also deployed Multi-Element On Wheels (MEOW) equipment at San Lazaro Hospital, one of DOH’s primary COVID-19 facilities.
Text-to-Donate drive
The PLDT-Smart Foundation (PSF) and Smart Communications, Inc. have launched a Text-to-Donate drive for COVID-19 frontliners that enables Smart, TNT, and Sun customers to contribute using their prepaid load or donations charged to their postpaid account. Aside from health workers and other frontliners, the target beneficiaries include communities hard-hit by the public health emergency.
Through the Text-to-Donate platform, PSF and Smart are making it easier for its customers to unite for a good cause just by sending a simple text message.
To donate, Smart, TNT, and Sun subscribers simply have to text DONATE<Space><Amount> and send to 3456.
Fuel subsidy
Phoenix Petroleum and CleanFuel have extended the fuel subsidy for participating bus units of free ride for health workers program until mid-May, according to the Department of Transportation.
This move came following the extension of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in several areas of the country, including the National Capital Region (NCR) from April 30 to May 15.
CleanFuel will continue to provide a total of 810 liters of fuel daily for 20 bus units. The fuel subsidy assistance started April 8.
The oil company added that bus units can fill up their tanks at CleanFuel Kamias, and Pioneer branches.
Phoenix Petroleum has extended the fuel subsidy assistance for DOTr free ride for health workers program until May 15.
Phoenix Petroluem has assured to continuously provide 50 liters of fuel a day to sixty private bus companies or a total daily allocation of 3,000 liters.
To avail of the free fuel assistance, bus units participating in the free ride service for health workers program should at least complete two round trips on a given day. They will then be provided with a voucher, which will be certified and signed by the leaders in the different staging areas. The voucher will then be signed by an authorized representative at the assigned Phoenix Petroleum gas stations.
For the extended fuel subsidy program, participating bus units can proceed to seven designated Phoenix Petroleum gas stations located in Timog and Bahay Toro in Quezon City; Mall of Asia in Pasay City; NAIA Road in Parañaque City; Malanday 1 in Valenzuela; Potrero in Malabon; and Filinvest-Northgate in Alabang, Muntinlupa.
The DOTr also partnered with Petron Corp., Seaoil Philippines, and Total Philippines for the provision of fuel subsidies to transport companies participating in the free ride for health workers program.
As of April 24, the free ride program has recorded 395,287 total ridership.
Wish granted
Goldilocks Bakeshop delivered food packs and sweet treats to medical front liners of Navotas City Hospital (NCH) last April 17, responding to the request of a netizen who used his time to bridge the assistance to the hospital’s frontliners.
Ephraim Ventanilla earlier tagged “Navotas City Hospital” in a Facebook post by Goldilocks which said it was delivering food donations to several hospitals in Metro Manila.
The 33-year-old data analyst hoped Goldilocks’ would notice his simple appeal for food donation to the hospital where his wife Gemma was working.
Goldilocks responded and sent out a message of gratitude to NCH’s medical front liners for keeping their community safe and healthy, thanking them for their “dedicated service especially in these trying times.”
Since the Luzon-wide ECQ started, Goldilocks and SM Foundation Inc. have provided meals and baked treats to countless hospital staff, reaching more than 100 hospitals and medical facilities as well as over 170 government and private institutions around the country.
Quarantine facility
A converted quarantine facility, Philippine Sports (PhilSports) Arena is now ready to accommodate coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients.
PhilSports Arena has all the necessary equipment prior to acceptance for management and operation.
The center with two nurses’ stations is fully equipped with medical equipment such as hospital beds donated by the Villar Group of Companies.
The civil works in PhilSports Arena were completed within three days by the Department of Public Works and Highways Task Force for Augmentation of Local and National Health Facilities and National Capital Region.
The facility will be operated by 9 doctors and 54 nurses from the PNP Medical Corps.
Beko Pilipinas extends aid to frontliners, communities
Beko, the Philippine subsidiary of Europe’s No. 1 home appliances brand, shows its gratitude to today’s unsung heroes as it teams up with local municipalities of Pasig, San Juan and Manila; the Philippine General Hospital, San Juan De Dios Medical Center, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, and Delos Santos Medical Center; together with actress Angel Locsin’s #UniTentWeStand campaign for San Lazaro Hospital in Manila and the converted quarantine facilities in the Philippine International Convention Center, Rizal Memorial Stadium and Philippine Arena, by donating its innovative washing machines (Hygiene+), freestanding cookers (Cookmaster) and refrigerators (EverFresh+) for use during the COVID-19 crisis.
Helping LGUs and the private sectors is consistent with Beko’s brand purpose to “empower new generations to live healthier.”
“Frontliners are our today’s heroes and we are happy to provide refrigerators, cookers and washing machines to make the place where they are resting more convenient and homey. We are also looking at ways to continue extend our support during the war against COVID-19,” said Gí¼rhan Gí¼nal, country manager of Beko Pilipinas Corporation.
Beko Pilipinas is also working with #RockEd Relief (@RockEdPhilippines) and #FrontlineFeedersPH (@FrontlineFeedersPH) groups that help and support the medical workers in mobilizing, allocating and providing food delivery to hospitals.
Beko is the global home appliances brand of the Arí§elik Group. The brand has been in the Philippine market for five years and is currently available in select SM Appliance Centers, Robinsons Appliances Stores and Asian Home Appliance Center in Cebu.
