MVP Group pledges support to DOH’s COVID-19 initiatives

MANILA, Philippines — Compa­nies has teamed up with the Department of Health (DOH) to support the agency’s CO­VID-19 initiatives.

Called BIDA Solusyon sa COVID-19, the campaign seeks to educate Filipinos on the best hygiene practices and promote positive behavioral changes to ensure safety in the new normal.

“On behalf of all our com­panies and our foundations, I would like to pledge our sup­port to promote the values of BIDA not just in our businesses but in our daily lives as well,” MVP Group chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

“We are hoping that through our group’s contribution, we could help the real bida who are central to our businesses – the Filipino people, the Filipino consumers,” Pangilinan said.

Under the MVP Group are 14 companies and foundations with presence in the utilities, investments, financial servic­es, infrastructure, media and healthcare sectors.

Under the partnership, physical stores and business centers under the group such as PLDT-Smart stores nation­wide, Meralco, Bayad Cen­ter and Maynilad will carry DOH’s BIDA campaign educa­tional materials for customers’ information.

Light Rail Manila Corp., the private operator of LRT-1, will also promote these materials to its over 100,000 passengers.

Toll roads NLEX, CAVITEX and CALAX will be equipped with contactless RFID payment in toll booths, while digital financial services firm Pay­Maya is accelerating cashless adoption across consumers, government, large enterprises, and small businesses for safer and more convenient transac­tions for every Filipino.

Maynilad, meanwhile, will install contactless handwash stations with liquid soap to further promote handwashing, ensure continuous water sup­ply especially for COVID-19 hospitals, and expedite tech­nical requirements related to water for mega quarantine facilities.

Metro Pacific Hospital Hold­ings Inc., for its part, has formed a COVID crisis management team to ensure the safety and welfare of their healthcare work­ers so they can continue to pro­vide services to Filipinos.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque expressed his gratitude to the MVP Group’s support, saying that the partnership is a big step in expanding and strengthening the health system capacity nationwide.

PLDT and Meralco have also donated hospital equipment to East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC), strengthening the hospital’s bid to become a new COVID referral institution by increasing its bed capacity to accommodate additional CO­VID-19 patients.

With a 250-bed capacity, the new building of EAMC is re-purposed to be the Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases.

“The Quezon City govern­ment is eternally grateful to the MVP Group’s generous assis­tance of high-quality medical equipment to the East Avenue Medical Center. These donations will greatly benefit the people of Quezon City, most particularly the underprivileged and vulner­able. This equipment will help the hospital become more responsive to the needs of our people. It is also a great contribution to our common dream of a higher level of service for all,” Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said.