Toyota representatives standing beside toyota vehicles

PH businesses relentlessly support embattled frontliners as pandemic rages on

Last April, during the early stages of the CoViD-19 outbreak in the country, TessDrive.com featured local companies who lent support to the country’s frontliners. Four months since, members of the business sector have continued their efforts, helping in any way they can. Here are some fine examples.

SMC: 5,000 frontliners in Cebu each get P2M life insurance

San Miguel Corp recently provided medical insurance worth P2 million each to 5,000 medical workers in Cebu, which, in recent months was one of the most affected cities in the country.

Now under general community quarantine, Cebu recently logged less CoViD-19 cases and improved recoveries.

“If there is anything this pandemic has made clear to all of us, it’s that nothing is more valuable than a human life. But our reality today is such that our medical professionals continue to risk their lives everyday in order to save others,” said SMC president and COO Ramon S. Ang.

The insurance package, to be given to medical workers in government hospitals, is among the forms of assistance that the food and beverage, fuels, power, and infrastructure conglomerate has extended to Cebu.

Last April, it donated two Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing machines—considered the gold standard in CoViD-19 testing—and a high-throughput, automated RNA extraction system to Cebu, through the Department of Health (DOH). DOH then turned over the equipment to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Hospital. SMC also donated free food and disinfectant alcohol to Cebu throughout the quarantine.

As of June 25, the company’s CoViD-19 response efforts had reached P13.112 billion, including P8.77 billion in advance payments for taxes and contractual fees to government to help ensure availability of funds. It had also donated P516 million in food, the largest in the company’s and perhaps, the country’s history. It also reconfigured the operations of its liquor subsidiary, Ginebra San Miguel Inc, to produce and donate 1.3 million liters of alcohol disinfectant worth P97.1 million.

The company also put up a P500 million fund to purchase life-saving equipment, including testing machines and personal protective gear, to support medical frontliners.

Recently, it inaugurated its own PCR testing laboratory, Better World Edsa, capable of processing up to 4,000 tests per day.

In cooperation with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, SMC also constructed 10 isolation facilities with a total 150-bed capacity near camp hospitals nationwide.

Meanwhile, it has also extended its free toll privilege and fuel subsidy for medical frontliners. The free toll program, which began at the height of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in March, has reached P53.49 million in waived fees to date. Ang said the program will continue indefinitely.

Some 9,260 medical front liners have availed of free toll RFID stickers, which can be used at all SMC Infrastructure-operated expressways, namely STAR Tollway, South Luzon Expressway, the Skyway system, NAIA Expressway, and the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLex).

Apart from the free toll program, SMC, through subsidiaries SMC Infrastructure and Petron Corp, has also provided free fuel to the Libreng Sakay programs of both the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA). Recently, SMC extended its free fuel program for the DOTr’s free shuttle program for medical workers.

Since April 7, SMC Infrastructure has provided fuel subsidies of 3,000 liters per day for 60 DOTr shuttle buses utilized to ferry health workers to various hospitals and critical health facilities. The most recent extension is until the end of the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) on August 18. 

Honda: 18 cars to frontliners in Laguna, Cavite

On Aug. 8, Honda Cars Philippines Inc (HCPI), Honda’s automobile business unit in the Philippines, lent out anew 18 cars to various medical facilities in Laguna and Cavite in support of the transportation needs of medical health workers.

Honda provided City, Brio, Jazz, Civic, Mobilio, BR-V, HR-V, and CR-V models to seven hospitals, namely New Sinai MDI Hospital and The Medical City South Luzon in Santa Rosa, Laguna; Unihealth-Southwoods Hospital and Medical Center and Perpetual Help Medical Center in Biñan, Laguna; Global Care Medical Centers in Canlubang and Cabuyao, Laguna; and Carmona Hospital and Medical Center in Carmona, Cavite. Honda also provided each car with free gasoline good for the duration of the MECQ.

For more information on Honda’s car lending initiative, visit the the HCPI official website at www.hondaphil.com.

Isuzu Ph: PPEs for partner organizations

Isuzu Philippines Corp (IPC) launched its “Isuzu Kasama Mo” campaign last June 1 and made its initial donation of medical personal protective equipment (PPEs) to partner institutions on July 10.

In a simple turnover ceremony held at the IPC headquarters in Binan, Laguna, representatives of the partner organizations, namely; Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Red Cross and Caritas Manila, received the PPE sets from IPC executives in behalf of the customers. The PPE sets will be used by the partners’ frontliners.

The campaign, which actively promotes the value of sharing and caring, gives an opportunity to Isuzu customers to support frontliners in every Isuzu vehicle they purchase. “The donation that our partners will be receiving today, comes from the kind heart of our valued customers,” said IPC President Hajime Koso.

“We assure our partner organization that this will not be the end of our assistance to them, as we vow to continue to support them in fighting this pandemic,” he added.

The Isuzu campaign ran until July 31.

Toyota Ph: 30 Vios units donated to public hospitals

On June 16, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp (TMP) signed a memorandum of agreement with DOH in support of the government’s efforts to address the mobility needs of healthcare workers.  TMP announced that it would be donating 30 Vios units to various public hospitals in Metro Manila and Laguna.

DOH hosted the event at its central office in Sta. Cruz, Manila with Secretary Francisco Duque III heading the ceremony. Showing strong support to the government, Toyota officials in attendance were Chairman Alfred V. Ty, Vice Chairman David Go, and President Atsuhiro Okamoto. The event was also graced by Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda who continuously promotes strong ties between the Japanese business community, the Philippine government and the Filipino society.

Culminating the simple event was the actual turnover of one Vios unit each to Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, San Lazaro Hospital, and San Lorenzo Ruiz Women’s Hospital.

On top of the vehicle donation, TMP, in partnership with Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF), currently provides 10 connected and sanitized shuttles to Philippine General Hospital (PGH) health workers. All shuttles are in compliance with the “new normal” guidelines to ensure that healthcare workers are well-protected.