COVID-19 Response Corporate Social Responsibility Therma South, Inc. Davao Light Cotabato Light Hedcor Group Sustainability

Aboitiz Group extends support for Mindanao amid COVID-19 crisis

April 22, 2020

With more areas in the country now placed under enhanced community quarantine, the Aboitiz Group is ramping up its sustained efforts in helping our nation’s frontliners and all those affected during the ongoing health crisis.

Home to several Aboitiz businesses, Davao and its communities are already receiving a much-needed helping hand, courtesy of the Aboitiz Group.

On April 3, Friday, a joint initiative among AboitizPower units Davao Light, Hedcor, and Therma South involved the delivery of a total of 17,665 canned goods and 162 sacks of rice to the Davao City local government unit. This includes an assortment of sardines, beef loaf, and corned beef. Hedcor also added 180 packs of noodles along with soap and disinfectants.

Apo Agua Infrastructura followed the array of donations with a mass of 7,648 canned goods and 101 sacks of rice through the Davao City Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO).

Hedcor and Therma South also dropped off a total of 2,249 canned goods, and 63 sacks of rice to the municipality of Sta. Cruz, along with 20-unit folding beds, soap, and disinfectants received by the municipal health officer. Therma South has provided 20 sacks of rice, and 1,000 canned goods for the province of Davao del Sur, plus medical supplies worth PHP 50,000, as well.

Help is also being extended in other parts of Mindanao. Cotabato Light has distributed 125 sacks of rice and 3,468 assorted canned goods to the city of Cotabato, as well as the municipalities of Sultan Kudarat and Datu Odin Sinsuat.

Cotabato Light also donated medical supplies to the Cotabato Regional Medical Center, including 11,000 surgical masks, 1,000 nitrile gloves, 9,000 surgical gloves, 371 safety goggles, IR & Digital Contact thermometers, and alcohol to support the area’s frontliners.

Pilmico, the Aboitiz Group’s food arm, has distributed a total of 5,920 bread kits and 15,205 assorted medical supplies to various checkpoints and medical institutions in the Iligan City area.

Therma Marine, an AboitizPower subsidiary based in Maco, Davao de Oro and Nasipit, Agusan del Norte, has distributed IR thermometers and containers of chlorine to the local government unit of Maco to assist their frontliners. Medical supplies were also donated to Barangay San Roque.

Davao Light turned over food items to its franchise areas in Davao del Norte, particularly in Panabo City, the Municipality of Carmen, the Municipality of Sto. Tomas, and the Municipality of Braulio Dujali.

In addition, the Aboitiz Mindanao BUs held a fund-raising campaign among its team members to assist frontliners, which amounted to PHP 279,200. Through this, the company so far has been able to donate 300 face shields, 5,000 pairs of medical gloves, and 30 liters of alcohol to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), the primary COVID-19 testing and care center in the Davao region. The funds have also been used to purchase PPEs and other medical supplies to be distributed to institutions throughout Mindanao.

Upon the arrival of more medical supplies, the Aboitiz Group will be swift and thorough in making sure that our frontliners are provided with the right equipment necessary to combat COVID-19.

The Aboitiz Group has so far already contributed around PHP 130 million to public and private campaigns nationwide, all of which are aimed at assisting communities affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The amount includes PHP 100 million recently donated to Project Ugnayan, a collaboration among local companies in partnership with the Philippine Disaster Relief Foundation (PDRF).

These recent turnovers are part of the Aboitiz Group’s long-term efforts to help the government address the concerns of frontliners as well as the communities it serves amid the pandemic.