Teamwork elusive as ever; SMC’S ₧190-M aid & more

WHILE the ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine) is in force, a curfew of from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. in Metro Manila has remained in force for two weeks since March 29. Just right. This is to arrest the scary spike of Covid-19 cases now rising to almost 10,000 infections daily beginning fourth week of March.

But exempted are the public buses that ply the metropolis, chiefly to transport employees maintained by vital industries, frontline health workers and those identified with operations/concerns on pandemic issues. Just right.

one year after the pandemic scourge, the government, sadly, finds itself still against the ropes. A slew of factors has conspired to put us in a bind: slow vaccine rollouts, late arrivals of ordered vaccines, confusion on prioritized vaccine recipients, the people’s inclination to not heed safety health protocols and many more, including resorting to blame-game and making petty matters big deal.

Unless real teamwork among our leaders is forged, quickly, and indulging in badmouthing and grandstanding isn’t thrown out the window, instantly, the road to recovery, if not normalcy, will remain, sadly, a dream as elusive as our first gold in the olympic games. Sigh.

SMC a bright note amid the crisis

TWELVE months later, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has waived P190.7 million for medical frontliners passing through expressways it operates, SMC’S Jon hernandez said.

SMC, which operates the Southern Tagalog Arterial road (STAR), South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), the Skyway system, including the newly opened Skyway Stage 3; NAIA Expressway, and Tarlac-pangasinan-la Union Expressway, is the only toll operator in the country that continues to implement the “no toll policy” in support of Covid-19 medical frontliners.

A total of 10,402 Covid-19 frontliners—doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, and other medical workers—currently benefit from the program, first announced by SMC at the start of the lockdown last year.

“one year on and the fight against Covid-19 continues. In fact, with this recent surge in cases, our medical frontliners are again facing a difficult challenge, and their lives are again at higher risk,” said SMC president ramon S. Ang.

“We are so grateful to them, and proud that we have continued to help them and provided them this privilege of free toll for one whole year now. We hope that at least, it has lightened their burden, and that every day they go to work, they are reminded of how San Miguel and the whole country are grateful for their sacrifices,” he said.

The free toll privilege was among numerous efforts by SMC to help the medical sector last year. These included donations of PCR testing machines and testing kits, fully-automated RNA extraction machines, high-flow cannula respiratory machines, temporary quarantine facilities, life insurance for frontliners, personal protective equipment, disinfecting alcohol, and free fuel for shuttle services.

“Even while our medical frontliners have already started receiving the vaccines, the threat of Covid-19 persists. It really falls on our collective shoulders to reduce the strain on our medical frontliners and workers. We can all do our part and contribute.

For us, it is through this program, and through our other initiatives, that aim to keep our employees safe. Each of us can help out, just by following health protocols,” Ang said.

P1B for vaccines

SINCE the pandemic, SMC has put in place many measures to take care of its own employees to help unburden the medical system.

These include the strict implementation of health protocols and limited work place hours, regular testing of employees through its own RT-PCR laboratory, and recently, its setting aside of P1 billion to purchase vaccines for SMC’S 70,000-strong workforce.

“While we wait for the life-saving vaccines to arrive for the rest of the population in the coming months, we need to be very vigilant in protecting ourselves and preventing an even bigger surge in cases,” Ang said.

“These safety measures, which we all know by now—wearing of masks, face shields, washing of hands, keeping social distance— are keys to limiting the spread of the disease and in keeping all of us healthy and safe,” he said.

We need more Angs, please?

PEE STOP Campi says Toyota is No. 1 in total units sold with 23,894 in February, with Mitsubishi a far second at 8,590 and Nissan third at 3,640. From 4th to 10th are Ford with 3,489, Suzuki 3,069, honda 2,487, hyundai 2,417, Isuzu 2,069, geely 780 and Kia 648. happy Easter!