A week after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Abra, Ilocos Sur, and other North Luzon provinces, the MVP group sustains its conglomerate-wide relief assistance to provide affected communities with much-needed aid in the form of communication aid, food packs, hygiene kits, solar lamps and water.
PLDT-Smart Foundation (PSF), Alagang Kapatid Foundation, Inc. (AKFI), One Meralco Foundation (OMF), Metro Pacific Investments Foundation (MPIF) and Maynilad, through Tulong Kapatid, the consortium of foundations and companies led by businessman Manuel V Pangilinan, have activated their respective response teams, and quickly provided relief to quake-hit areas in North Luzon. One week on, the teams continue deliver assistance to affected communities.
“The disasters we have experienced in the past have taught us different ways of responding to the next. However, one disaster after the other, our mission to assist our fellow Filipinos during difficult times remains the same. Our commitment to help will only get stronger from here,” said PLDT Smart Chairman Manuel V Pangilinan.
The Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), the country’s major private sector coordinator for disaster risk reduction and management, have also accelerated its operations and joined the MVP group in swiftly bringing more help to affected communities.
PLDT and its wireless unit Smart have set up Libreng Tawag (free calls) and Libreng WiFi (free WiFi) stations in the provinces of Abra and Ilocos Sur right on the day the earthquake hit to serve the communication needs of residents.
PLDT and Smart also provided affected customers with emergency load assistance, allowing them to communicate with their families and loved ones.
To help residents get back on their feet, PLDT and Smart have also assured customers in quake-hit areas of continued service, with the deferment of disconnection for non-payment of PLDT Home and Smart postpaid bills, until August 15.
PLDT, Smart, PSF, and AKFI have also worked double time to provide food packs and hygiene kits to hardest hit communities in North Luzon, benefiting 3,000 families. AKFI also delivered 500 more food packs from their own donors and 200 lugaw kits from MPIF that fed the affected residents.
Maynilad also turned over 1,000 pieces of 6-liter drinking water to AKFI for distribution to residents of Lagangilag, Abra and distributed 500 pieces more through the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage (MWSS) to other communities in the province. Two water tankers were also deployed to bring potable water to communities where the distribution lines have been damaged by the earthquake.
One Meralco Foundation, the first to reach far-flung barangays in Abra, provided 200 solar lamps that experienced power outage and gave out 200 food packs to more communities.
Guided by the group’s core value of ‘malasakit’ or compassion, the MVP group and Tulong Kapatid continue to be at the forefront of extending relief assistance to communities in need across the country, particularly in times of disaster.