SMC president Ramon S. Ang PHOTO FROM SANMIGUEL.COM.PH
Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. has contributed P877.8 million so far to nationwide efforts to fortify medical front-liners and support hardest-hit communities in this global war against the coronavirus – one of the single largest local corporate resource mobilizations seen during this state of public health emergency.
The disbursement includes a personal donation of P100 million from SMC’s president, business tycoon Ramon S. Ang.
“We are reporting on our progress so that people will be assured that help is on the way, that many organizations are mobilizing and working together to support the government and our fellow Filipinos. Together, we will win this battle,” Ang said in a press statement on Monday.
The company has started to flesh out its commitment to donate P500 million worth of personal protective equipment (PPEs) for medical front-liners. It has partnered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to tap local suppliers. Sourcing of PPEs through its network of global suppliers is also ongoing.
Some P199.4 million worth of canned goods, meat products, biscuits, bread, coffee, are being donated to vulnerable communities through the local government units (LGUs), non-profit organizations, charitable institutions, church-based groups and through direct donations. Deliveries to various locations throughout Luzon are ongoing.
SMC also more than doubled its initial commitment to donate 500,000 kilos of rice to vulnerable communities. To date, it has sourced P1.1 million kilos of rice worth over P38 million. Deliveries to beneficiary communities and families are ongoing.
Ang and his family also donated P100 million to “Project Ugnayan”, a broad coalition of private companies working together to assist government in the fight against COVID-19.
SMC’s hard liquor arm, Ginebra San Miguel Inc., has completed retooling its facilities nationwide to produce 70-percent ethyl alcohol for disinfection. With this, it is now able to produce 100,000 liters of rubbing alcohol daily. As of April 4, SMC’s alcohol donation to hospitals, the Department of Health (DoH), LGUS, Philippine National Police (PNP) checkpoints, and other vital institutions, has reached 518,340 liters, or P38.9 million.
The conglomerate has also allowed the free use of SMC tollways – Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR), South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), Skyway, NAIAx, and the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX)- for medical doctors and nurses. Implemented a week ago, the value of availment reached P1.1 million as of April 4.
SMC Infrastructure has also provided support to the PNP and Armed Forces of the Philippines for the checkpoints set up along its expressways. This includes providing portalets, motorcycles and riders, passenger vehicles, generator sets, tower lights, traffic cones, barriers, tents, water, and disinfectant teams.
“We are working with a broad and diverse base of partners–from the national government, to the LGUS; our hospitals and doctors, the non-profit groups and charitable institutions; church groups, the PNP and AFP–because we want to make sure that help gets to as many Filipinos as possible,” said Ang.
Ang reiterated that SMC’s efforts would continue throughout the crisis. It has also repeatedly assured the public that its vital operations—food production, power and fuel generation, and the operation of infrastructure—would likewise continue, to ensure people’s access to essential goods and services.