Even with the government-mandated quarantine, curfew and other restrictions in effect, a good number of Filipinos still find ways to help our health workers save lives and try to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
From big names in the world of business, like the Lopez Group, which pledged P100 million to support people who temporarily lost their livelihood due to the crisis, to individuals like ABS-CBN actress Angel Locsin, who donated tents for patients in overcrowded Metro Manila hospitals, people from all walks of life have come together and committed time, effort and resources to the fight against Covid-19.
While some are doing medical help, others are donating cash, food, medical supplies and personal protective equipment, filling gaps in public resources that might otherwise have been left unfilled, and augmenting the work of government, which many people say leaves much to be desired.
The Jollibee Group Foundation, for instance, pledged P100 million worth of its food products for health workers and checkpoint personnel.
Local distilleries, like Ginebra San Miguel, are reportedly adding disinfectant alcohol and hand sanitizer to their usual product range, for donation to communities to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.
San Miguel Corp. is tapping its global network of suppliers to purchase P500-million worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) that doctors, nurses and other health-care workers desperately need now to continue saving lives amid Covid-19. SMC President and COO Ramon S. Ang also urged domestic manufacturers to retool their facilities, if they can, to produce these equipment and ramp up production to secure the supply chain.
Meanwhile, the conglomerate behind Emperador brandy, Alliance Global Group, said it will convert its stock of 86 percent alcohol into the kind that can be used for sanitizing clinics and hospitals.
Businessmen whose hotels and accommodation establishments are located near hospitals, such as the Philippine General Hospital, have opened their rooms to our medical workers, so they can have decent places to rest in after long, grueling, nerve-wracking extended shifts.
Metrobank and GT Capital Holdings Group of the Ty family pledged P200 million for the production of more coronavirus test kits by the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health, and for PPEs for health-care staff.
The Gokongwei Brothers Foundation pledged P100 million for PPEs, mainly for the UP Medical Foundation Inc. and PGH Medical Foundation Inc. The Gokongwei Group’s food production unit URC is also donating its products to frontline health workers.
The SM Group is giving P100 million to the Philippine General Hospital and the Research Institute for Tropical Management “for their urgent needs and for improving their laboratory testing capacity.”
De La Salle University opened its Taft and Greenhills campuses to shelter homeless people affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon, and Catholic schools in Manila like the Malate Catholic School, Espiritu Santo Parochial School, Holy Trinity and the Paco Catholic School followed suit.
A CNN Philippines story said a group of designers, engineers and chemists from the University of the Philippines Diliman, came up with easy-to-build disinfection tents to boost protection against the coronavirus.
Some local fashion designers, including Michael Leyva, Domz Ramos and Rajo Laurel, are also stepping up to help overcome shortages of face masks and other PPEs, retooling their production and putting their sewing teams to good use.
A story published in our Export Unlimited section on Saturday featured how the Labspace for Innovation, Knowledge-Honing and Application Fab Lab of the Batangas State University, together with the Department of Trade and Industry Region 4A, are manufacturing face shields using 3D printed face bands and acetate films for our health workers.
A group of Don Bosco Makati high-school alumni pooled their resources and solicited donations to make and distribute aerosole boxes for free to hospitals dealing with Covid-19 cases. The aerosol boxes, which are fabricated from acrylic sheets, can reduce exposure to droplets and aerosol while intubating Covid-19 patients. They also help confine viral spread of patients in the ICU in lieu of using plastic drapes.
In Palawan, conscious of the financial difficulties caused by the Covid-19 crisis, the Palawenyo Savers Club guaranteed the salaries of employees of firms affiliated with it, provided them groceries and assured their employment upon resumption of operations after the ECQ. The organization also donated surgical masks, alcohol and thermal scanners to different hospitals as far as Romblon, and is set to deliver decontamination tents to hospitals and institutions in Metro Manila and Palawan.
There are so many more activities and initiatives undertaken by private-sector organizations and individuals, too many to mention here. Suffice it to say that for every crooked businessman who hoards thousands of bottles of alcohol during this crisis, or for every politician’s absolutely irresponsible behavior that endangers others, there are countless moments of compassion, kindness and generosity that show the best of our humanity in this darkest of times.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano