SMC imports 40K PPE sets from China

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said its first 40,000 sets of protective gear arrived Wednesday on board a Boeing-777 from China, part of a P500-million fund earmarked by the conglomerate to help augment existing supplies and better equip Filipino medical frontliners in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic.

SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said the company chartered the aircraft from Philippine Airlines and filled it “to the brim” with personal protective equipment (PPEs) sourced from suppliers in China. The PPEs will be donated to various hospitals in Luzon where most COVID-19 cases are reported.

The shipment consists of 40,000 hazmat suits and goggles intended to boost local supply of medical grade PPEs. Local manufacturers are also working to ramp up production capacity.

SMC earlier announced it was buying the first 10,000 PPEs to be made by local garments manufacturers under the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines (CONWEP). The group was tapped by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Health (DoH) to reconfigure their operations to ramp up local production of PPEs.

SMC plans to continue buying locally produced PPEs to donate to medical practitioners.

The DTI and DOH are targeting a capacity of 10,000 PPE coveralls per day from members of CONWEP, which normally export garments to top global brands.

Both the DOH and the Philippine General Hospital approved the design of the local PPEs to ensure they are “medical-grade” and CONWEP has secured suppliers of raw materials.

Apart from its P500 million fund to acquire PPEs, SMC has also donated over P227 million in food products, including canned goods, meat and poultry products, rice, biscuits, coffee, dairy, and flour to make bread, to  less fortunate communities during the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.

From Luzon, its food donations have started reaching provinces from Visayas and Mindanao.

It has also donated ethyl alcohol to hospitals, LGUs, and vital installations nationwide. These are produced at all its liquor manufacturing plants all over the country.