Philippine companies are showing compassion amidst the COVID-19 that has affected thousands of lives and lifestyles in a matter of months.
The nature of the coronavirus disease pandemic has made it vital for people to make adjustments in their home life as well as at work, especially with the enforcement of community quarantine that has suspended non-essential business operations.
Local companies have therefore begun adjusting to these dramatic changes by reevaluating their priorities, putting their workers first, and making the necessary policies for the good of the community. The following companies have made such empathic changes:
San Miguel Corporation
On March 25, 2020, (SMC) had upped its production of hand-rubbing alcohol, or ethyl alcohol, in their Ginebra San Miguel factories throughout their country to make about 100,000 liters of alcohol. Prior to this, they already donated 29,300 liters of alcohol to 77 Metro Manila hospitals.
As further thanks to the frontliners in the country, their infrastructure division has suspended toll fees for medical workers. This allows medical workers to pass through SMC-operated highways without being stopped for fees.
LT Group Inc.
In their “Help Flows” relief program, Lucio Tan’s LT Group Inc. donated a total of 20,000 liters of alcohol, 10,000 bottles of Absolute drinking water, and 2,000 N95 face masks to the Department of Health and other government medical facilities.
With the help of Asia Brewery Inc., Tanduay Distillers, and other LT Group member firms, they plan to donate more essential health commodities to their employees, local government units, other frontline units, like the Philippine National Police and armed forces.
Gokongwei Group
The conglomerate’s philanthropic Gokongwei Brothers Foundation has invested PhP100 million in a fund to provide frontliners with personal protective equipment to help defend them against viral infection, while their food manufacturing sector plans to donate snacks to Metro Manila hospitals.
Robinsons Land Corporation will also be suspending the billing of rent in all their commercial spaces for their tenants for them to focus on their finances in a time that affects hundreds of businesses.
Cebu Pacific will allow the rescheduling of flights scheduled before April 30, or remittance to a fund for travel to be used in the future before June 30.
Ayala Corporation
In a Facebook post, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala had announced that the Ayala Corporation is launching a COVID-19 emergency response package to support their workers. This package, costing PhP2.4 billion, will cover various payments, compensations, and wages, and extends to its other subsidiaries.
This package includes a total of PhP870 million of continued pay for their employees, staff, and workers across related companies; and a PhP130 million support fund for workers’ financial support.
SM Group
In the middle of March, the SM Group teamed up with the UP Medical Foundation and funneled PhP100 million to purchasing personal protective equipment for government hospitals and workers who needed them. The UP Medical Foundation was in charge of distributing them to hospitals around the country.
SM also funded Philippine General Hospital and the Research Institute for Tropical Management’s move to improve and expand their laboratory testing capacity and is also moving to help distribute more test kits for public use.
As big corporations make their mark, let’s not forget how smaller actions still help! Online artists in the #ArtForMedPH movement are opening up commissions for donations that help our frontliners ) and Share-A-card children are sending get-well cards to COVID-19 patients at RITM to boost morale.
In our own little ways, we can help our community in the midst of this crisis.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to Philippine companies who are showing the way for business to care for its own people while helping the Filipino nation cope with the COVID-19 pandemic!
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