AFP, Metrobank give food packs to poor

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) together with Metrobank, through the GT Foundation Inc. (GTFI) and Metrobank Foundation Inc. (MBFI), delivered yesterday food packs to 10,000 poor families in various parts of the country.

Soldiers and volunteers delivered food to poor families to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

The AFP noted that since 2011, Metrobank Group with their late chairman George SK Ty, through GTFI and MBFI, has been giving food packs to underprivileged families in different parts of the country as a way of carrying out its tradition of sharing.

And since 2015, the military has been working hand in hand with the GTFI in keeping the tradition of sharing by giv- ing gifts to the families.

Aside from being the partner of MBFI and GTFI in the “Bags of Blessings” program, the AFP said it also provides security and manpower before, during and after the distribution of gift packs to families to show its commitment to and cooperation with the private sector in nation building and peace development.

“I express my appreciation and gratitude to GT FounBilog dation Inc. and Metrobank Foundation Inc. for being our partners in the private sector in nation building and peace development,” AFP chief Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. said.

“Our partnership with the different sectors of our society such as the business sector and the Filipino-Chinese community is very helpful in creating a better future for our children,” he added.

The AFP said 600 Manila residents and 500 families each from Quezon City and Marikina were the recipients of the initial deliveries of the food packs.

In Luzon, the AFP Northern Luzon Command joined the MBFI in giving food packs in the provinces of Pampanga, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Ilocos Sur and Cagayan, while the Southern Luzon Command assisted in giving food packs to those in the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna and Naga as the Western Command assisted in the distribution in Palawan.

The Central Command assisted Metrobank in giving gift packs in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Negros Occidental, Eastern Samar and Iloilo, while the Eastern Mindanao Command and the Western Mindanao Command distributed gift packs in the provinces of Davao, Surigao del Sur and Zamboanga.