Manuel V. Pangilinan
The group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan has mobilized over P190 million worth of resources to help the country’s medical front-liners and support vulnerable communities amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), together with its operating companies and foundations, donated millions of pesos worth of virus specimen collection kits, personal protective equipment (PPEs), medicine, relief goods (namely food and alcohol), face masks, water supplies, as well as transportation services for medical front-liners.
Based on a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, MPIC consolidated the efforts of various units – Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), Manila Electric Co. (MERALCO), Maynilad Water Services, Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), Global Business Power (GBP), MPIC Hospital group, Metro Pacific Investments Foundation (MPIF) and One Meralco Foundation – to support various municipalities, government agencies and medical institutions across the country.
MPIC also mobilized a nationwide internal program to take care of its thousands of employees involved in infrastructure projects all over the country. The group has continued to pay their salaries and benefits during the lockdown period. Provisions were made for hygiene supplies such as masks, health kits and vitamins and ensured advance payment of mid-year bonuses while on lockdown from March 15 to April 12.
The group’s employees were also given work from home allowance for electricity and internet needs, vitamins, with managers and executives received cash equivalent to replace fleet card liters.
Utilities with round-the-clock services such as Meralco and Maynilad received medical assistance, PPE and hygiene kits for lockdown and mission critical operations, including skeleton workforces, shuttle bus services, meal allowances and roving company doctors on call, among others.
MPIC and MPIF donated over P3 million worth of virus specimen collection tubes, PPEs, and vitamins to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), the Philippine Genome Center, the Lung Center of the Philippines, as well as the hospitals within the group.
MPTC coordinated with some 220 barangays along the NLEX, SCTEX and Cavitex network to donate P4.5 million worth of relief goods, while One Meralco Foundation distributed face masks to the Rizal and Philippine heart centers, as well as the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Maynilad provided water to hundreds of checkpoints of the Philippine National Police, Makati Medical Center, Rizal Medical, San Juan Medical, Cardinal Santos, V. Luna and Pasig Gen hospitals, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Philippine Navy, UP-PGH and the Malabon, Parañaque, and Putatan local government units.
LRMC provided free alcohol and thermometer units to all LRT-1 merchants and commuters, disinfection and sanitation services for all trains and public transport vehicles, as well as hygiene supplies.
One Meralco Foundation, Maynilad, and LRMC provided transportation assistance for health workers, donating eJeeps, vans and coasters to serve as free shuttle services. GBP has also donated half a million pesos for transportation assistance.
GBP’s Iloilo plant site also donated P300,000 to their LGU for alcohol, face masks, canned goods, noodles, and other necessities.
“For now, the mandate from our Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan is to provide and prioritize the well-being and protection of our employees for the continued and efficient services from our utility business including health care workers from the Metro Pacific Hospital Group. We are also trying to help various public hospitals including the Philippine National Police and LGU volunteers,” said MPIF president Melody del Rosario.