How Grab is making the things we need (and miss) just within reach

MANILA, Philippines – Before the pandemic, we seldom gave a second thought to our routine. Grabbing our daily caffeine fix. Eating in our favorite restaurants. Commuting to work. But now that we continue to spend our days devoid of normalcy despite the easing of quarantine rules, many are missing everyday things no matter how mundane they seem.  

Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading everyday app, understands that adapting to this new reality may be challenging for most of us. So, to bring comfort and delight to Filipinos in these trying times, they’re helping us re-experience the things that we miss about our normal lives through the #SagotKita project. Through a crowdsourcing social post published last June 6, Grab randomly chose 3 lucky people and granted their everyday wishes.

Rose Tapang-Feliciano, finding comfort in hakaw and her husband

Rose was busy preparing to move out of her housing unit inside the UP Campus before the pandemic struck. “I opted for early retirement as a faculty member of the UP College of Mass Communication effective January 2020,” she said. 

At first, she didn’t mind the lockdown and being quarantined at home since she was preoccupied with sorting and packing. The reality of the enhanced community quarantine only hit her when she realized she and her husband couldn’t move their things out. “We were indeed locked in with no freedom of movement – us and our stuff!”

When she saw Rappler’s post last June 6, she was at first dubious. But then she thought, “katuwaan kung baga” so she wrote her answer – visiting her 90-year-old mother in Baguio monthly and eating yang chow rice, sweet and sour pork, and hakaw with her husband at HapChan. 

Two days after, she received a message from Grab. She was so surprised that she checked the Facebook page of the person who messaged her, thinking it might be a prank. “But it was kinda funny because just an hour before I got the message from Grab, I had just ordered wonton noodles and siopao from HapChan for our snacks, which my husband and I agreed would already be our dinner,” Rose said. “Then the message came! It’s a good thing that what I wished for was different from what I ordered for our merienda. As an afterthought, I jokingly told my husband, ‘Sana dinagdagan ko pa yung wish ko!’ Totoo pala ang news/promo na ito’ (I should have wished for more. This news/promo is true)”. 

Analyn Tenedero, providing milk for her child

Analyn Tenedoro has 7 children. With her meager income from selling fruits in the streets and her husband out of job because of the community quarantine, she’s thankful to Grab for granting her wish. 

 “Wala na po kasi kaming pambili ng gatas dahil sa mahal na presyo. Pero yun lang po ang nirerekomenda ng doctor ng heart center (We can’t afford to buy it because it’s expensive. But we have no choice because it’s the only milk recommended by my child’s doctor at the heart center), she said. 

 She was so excited to receive the milk for her child that they waited outside as soon as she was informed that GrabExpress is on its way. “Maraming-maraming salamat po dahil pinagbigyan niyo ang wish ko (Thank you so much for granting my wish),” she said. 

James Velasco, hustling with the help of his wife

It’s not just them that Grab has been trying to help adapt to the new reality. They’ve also been granting the wishes of their driver-partners and providing relief as they continue to work amid the health crisis.

James is a part-time GrabExpress rider and volunteer messenger for AcessiWheels, a PWD transportation service. Ever since the community quarantine started, his wife, Mean, had to scrimp on their budget. So even though his worn-out pair of shoes for work already needed replacing, it had to wait because they had to prioritize their household expenses.  

This is why James was so surprised when Mean suddenly gave him a new pair of high cut shoes. “Huli ko na po nalaman eh. Nung natanggap ko na, saka niya lang sinabi kung saan galing (I only knew where the shoes came from when she gave it to me),” he said. 

Through GrabPay, Grab was able to grant her wish for a new pair of shoes to help protect her husband’s prosthetic leg. This opportunity, Mean said, came at a perfect time because it served as a belated birthday gift and advanced Father’s day gift for James.  

To show their commitment to being every Filipino’s partner in life, Grab continues to provide various services to help the public perform personal and business transactions while still observing proper health measures through GrabPay, GrabExpress, GrabMart, and GrabFood. 

Aside from granting wishes for things Filipinos miss, Grab is also giving over 100 deals for us to enjoy from June 8 until July 5:

• 35% off on food plus free delivery with code SAGOTKITA (minimum order of P550) through GrabFood. McDonald’s, Chatime, Ooma, Zark’s, and more offer bundles and discounts.
• Groceries and essentials on sale plus P100 off with code SAGOTKITA100 (min order of P1000) through GrabMart
• Cashbacks and discounts from ShopSM, Zalora, Waltermart, and more when you use GrabPay
• Affordable and convenient deliveries with up to 15% off on GrabExpress partner online stores

As Grab celebrates its 8th anniversary this year, they want to assure us that they got our backs. “Si Grab muna ang bahala.”  – Rappler.com

 Grab assures Filipinos that they have a partner in threading this new normal. Through its everyday services, Grab helps Filipinos do more and get the things that they need despite the limitations brought by the pandemic. Want to know more about Grab “Sagot Kita”? Visit https://www.grab.com/ph/featured-blog/grabsagotkita/