Private sector starts fund raising for COVID frontliners

MANILA, Philippines — To help bring immediate aid to healthcare workers and hospitals in fighting the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), Zuellig Pharma, ABS-CBN, Metro Drug and Go Negosyo have launched a fundraising campaign for the frontliners.

The group started the Kaagapay: Protect our Healthcare Heroes project, a fundraising initiative that aims to raise over P100 million to provide much needed medical items such as personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators for hospitals across Metro Manila.

“Franklin Roosevelt said that ‘courage is not the absence of fear but the assessment that there is something more important than fear.’ Our medical frontliners demonstrate this every day they are at work saving lives while putting their own at risk. Let us support these heroes in any way we can,” said PLDT/Smart Communications chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan.

“Just as the business community has banded together to feed the economically-vulnerable, we are also working in concert to support our healthcare frontliners with PPEs, test kits and medical supplies through this project,” said Ayala Corp. chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala.

Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, the Philippines is facing a medical equipment shortage, which puts the lives of frontliners at risk and interferes with the provision of care for those that are seriously ill.

Kaagapay seeks to address this need by utilizing pooled procurement mechanisms and supply chain processes in providing at least 50 ventilators and 30,000 PPEs for the healthcare sector. The initiative, which began its initial run last March 31, will include test kits and other life-saving medical equipment.

“Project Kaagapay is an opportunity for us as a nation to rally together and show our support to our healthcare heroes and patients in their fight against COVID-19. By pooling our donations as a whole community, we can provide timely access of critical equipment to those who need them most. Join us in this fight and together make a difference and save precious lives,” said Zuellig Pharma Corp. chairman Raymund Azurin.

Launched primarily through social media sites Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Kaagapay is calling on individuals and other non-government groups to take part in curbing the spread of the pandemic.

Established in 2010, PDRF is the major private sector coordinator for disaster risk reduction and management in the country. Composed of over 85 member-companies, PDRF is co-chaired by PLDT-Smart Communications chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, Ayala Corp. chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala and Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.