SM Group, Ayala Corp donate to fight coronavirus

MANILA, Philippines – Two of the country’s biggest conglomerates are donating supplies to help government hospitals and public health practitioners fight the novel coronavirus in the Philippines.

SM Group announced on Tuesday, March 17, that it is allocating P100 million to support the needs of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), and other government hospitals. It also reached out to UP Medical Foundation to reach a wider network of hospitals.

“To ensure the safety of medical frontliners, SM is bringing in personal protective equipment – face masks, gowns, visors, hoods, gloves, and shoe covers, as well as urgent medical supplies to help government hospitals who badly need them,” said SM Prime’s Hans Sy.

Through private research and development company Manila HealthTek, SM Group also aims to improve availability of test kits in the country and eventually distribute about 20,000 free test kits to public hospitals once approved for use.

Ayala Corporation has likewise taken steps to aid in the battle against the coronavirus. Through its subsidiary Ayala Healthcare Holdings (AC Health), the conglomerate distributed over 10,000 N95 masks to public hospitals on Monday, March 16.

“Amidst the challenges of this COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important for us to support our medical professionals and frontliners,” said AC Health president and chief executive officer Paolo Borromeo.

Among the hospitals AC Health donated to were PGH, RITM, San Lazaro Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Quezon City General Hospital, Quirino Medical Center, Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, and Ospital ng Maynila.

The masks were distributed directly to the medical facilities or through Department of Health channels, as well as to partner-institutions that serve communities outside Metro Manila.

Borromeo added that all Healthway mall-based clinics and FamilyDOC community clinics will remain open to serve the public. Generika pharmacies will also continue to be operational to provide access to medicines and supplements. – Rappler.com