PLDT-Smart Foundation sustains COVID-19 relief in communities

As communities start to recover from the ravages of COVID-19, PLDT-Smart Foundation (PSF) carries on providing relief packs to disadvantaged sectors, this time in Parañaque City.

Driven by its core value of malasakit, the PSF, together with the companies led by businessman Manuel V Pangilinan, has been helping local government units (LGUs) and their residents, by providing relief. “Reaching out to people, especially the disadvantaged, is part of our DNA,” said PSF President Ma. Esther O. Santos, noting that “We do our best to assist our fellowmen in their struggles to have a decent and meaningful life.”

Containing food essentials like rice, canned goods, coffee, and other grocery items, the 200 relief packs were distributed to underprivileged residents of Parañaque’s second district.

Thankful for the donations, Congresswoman Joy Myra S. Tambunting related that many of her constituents have entirely lost their livelihood and families whose incomes whittled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “So, a lot of my constituents are really having a difficult time with the continued implementation of quarantine measures, but we do understand that these are necessary to further avoid the transmission of the virus,” she said. “They’re trying their best to cope with this global health crisis, of course with the help of both the government and the private sector.”

At the height of the pandemic in 2020, PSF partnered with One Meralco Foundation to provide sacks of rice to Parañaque’s 2nd district, supporting families who have lost jobs due to COVID-19 restrictions. PLDT’s wireless unit Smart Communications also donated loaded 5G-ready prepaid SIM cards to help facilitate the online learning of students.

Together with PLDT and Smart, PSF has also assisted Bataan, where flash floods last July submerged areas in the province. Relief bags were distributed to 600 families whose houses, located in Barangay Cataning, Balanga City, and Mariveles, were submerged by the habagat floods.

All these efforts are in support of the #SafeandSmart advocacy of PLDT, Smart and the PSF, which provides relief and promotes preparedness and immediate response through network resilience, continuous availability of communication services, mobile solutions and activities, to help communities mitigate disaster risks.

This is also aligned with the commitment of PLDT, Smart, and the PSF to help the country attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), particularly SDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.