The Philam Foundation Inc. announced on Wednesday it would provide free compassionate benefit coverage worth P50,000 to 30,000 medical frontliners, initially with the partner hospitals of the Philam Group.
The program will provide coverage that translates to a total sum assured of P1.5 billion, the organization said in a statement.
“The pandemic caught everyone by surprise, and our immediate response was to take a two-pronged approach with our support: the containment of the virus by providing for the needs of medical frontliners and the food security programs to prevent social upheaval among the marginalized daily wage earners,” Philam Foundation President Max Ventura was quoted in the statement as saying. “After addressing the more pressing needs, we are now ready to provide a more meaningful intervention that’s aligned to our mission of protection through [this] initiative. The donation is a long way from ideal but this at least provides our frontliners some measure of protection as they battle Covid-19 face to face.”
The Philam Group includes AIA Philam Life and its affiliate companies, namely BPI-Philam Life Assurance Co., Philam Asset Management Inc. and Philam Foundation.
AIA Philam Life recently announced the actions the company has taken to address the needs of its customers, employees and partners during the enhanced community quarantine period, the company said.
As we continue to respond to the other needs of the frontliners whose lives are at risk as they fight the pandemic, the entire Philam Group has combined its efforts to strengthen this initiative and provide much needed coverage, the company added. This will include housekeeping and security personnel assigned to areas exposed to the coronavirus, aside from the doctors, residents, nurses, technicians, orderlies and nursing aides, depending on the classification of the hospital’s Human Resource Department.
The initial list of hospitals who have enlisted their frontliners for the compassionate coverage include the designated Covid-19 treatment hospitals, both government and private, as well as hospitals from different areas and affiliations nationwide, the company said. More hospitals will be added to the list composed of 20 institutions.
The special compassionate benefit is good for a three-month coverage initially, with the option to extend, and will be issued through the hospitals that are members of the Alliance for the Philippines’ Health and Advocacy. Alpha is the Foundation’s consortium together with the Philippine College of Physicians and the Philippine College of Surgeons, established to create programs that address health challenges faced by Filipinos through data-driven and evidence-based health advocacies and projects.
“It is AIA Philam Life’s first time to provide compassionate coverage made especially for medical frontliners, which aims to provide much-needed protection for these heroes. We want to give them peace of mind that as they battle an unseen enemy, they can rest assured that if anything happens, their families will receive something,” Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. CEO Kelvin Ang was quoted in the statement as saying. “We are happy to support this Foundation-led initiative that allows us to protect the frontliners, part of fulfilling our mission of racing against risk to protect every Filipino family and empower them to live healthier, longer and better lives.”