Grand Gestures

Business magnate Manny V Pangilinan focuses on aid to health workers and frontliners

The MVP Group of Companies—which includes PLDT, Smart, and Meralco—stands with the nation as it copes with the pandemic. Led by business magnate Manny V Pangilinan, the group is implementing a workfrom-home scheme and assuring its employees with continued monthly salaries as well as early 13th-month pay for some. It has donated face masks, personal protective equipment (PPEs), and 14,000 litres of 70 per cent ethyl alcohol to frontliners and government-owned hospitals. It has also distributed over 1,000 grocery packs to help families of health workers and personnel of V Luna

Hospital, and families of military officers manning the checkpoints in the city. Its service provider, PLDT, is continuing its services to provide internet access to all its customers to keep people connected and give them access to websites containing vital information on COVID-19. PLDT, has donated 30 service vehicles to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) frontliners. 17 of it will be assigned to AFP health services and the remaining will be deployed to other tasks force units. PLDT in partnership with the University of the Philippines Manila Philippine General Hospital (UPPGH), has also launched a hotline service for its

COVID-19 Bayanihan Operations Center, aside from its COVID-19 hotline with Smart and the Department of Health. Smart Communications has donated free SIMs and load cards to AFP frontliners and smartphones and loads to medical personnel of Philippine Government Hospital. Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) has waived the fees of its emergency towing services aside from providing free toll to all medical frontliners during the quarantine period. Customers of Meralco and Maynilad are also allowed to pay their bills at a later time due to the lockdown and are given a 30-day payment extension.