Filinvest rolls out jabs for Mindanao employees

MANILA, Philippines — Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) last week kicked off its free employee vaccination program in Northern Mindanao and CARAGA at the power plant site of subsidiary FDC Misamis Power Corp. in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental.

The Filinvest Vaccination Program (FilVax) aims to fully vaccinate around 15,000 employees within the Filinvest Group all over the country, including drivers, messengers, utility workers, and security guards.

“FilVax is the Filinvest conglomerate’s effort to support the national government’s vaccination program as we continue working toward a COVID-free Philippines. Keeping our employees, third-party providers and clients safe is a top priority in ensuring that our communities, workspaces, and business interfaces are safe and healthy for all. Our goal is to have 100 percent of employees receive their second dose on/or before the fourth quarter of 2021,” said Filinvest Land Inc. director Francis Gotianun.

The FDC Misamis vaccination hub seeks to inoculate more than 600 workers and partners, catering to power plant personnel and those from One Oasis CDO, EastWest Bank, and TROO from the provinces of Bukidnon, Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Norte.

Through the help of the Rural Health Unit of the municipality of Villanueva supported by its local chief executive, 50 percent of the target vaccinees got their first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on the first day of the vaccination rollout.

“We are incredibly grateful for the LGU Villanueva for generously lending us time and resources for the vaccination rollout of our employees. We assure the LGU of Villanueva that we will continue to show our support and assistance in their development efforts, to the best of our ability, as we continue to navigate the effects of the pandemic together,” said Juan Eugenio Roxas, president and CEO of FDC Misamis.

The rollout is part of the 100,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine procured by the Filinvest Group for the whole conglomerate. The Mindanao leg followed the successful launch of the Luzon leg last Aug. 4, in its first mega vaccination center in Festival Mall Filinvest City, Muntinlupa.

The FilVax program is one of several efforts under the broader #FILFreeFILSafe campaign, a comprehensive set of initiatives to promote health and safety among its employees and stakeholders.

The stringent implementation of protocols, along with many innovations in various processes, has allowed Filinvest’s businesses to operate efficiently under the new normal, especially its power plant facility, which continuously meets the demands of customers by providing unimpeded access to electricity.

FDC Misamis, a wholly owned subsidiary of Filinvest’s utilities and infrastructure arm FDC Utilities, Inc., runs a 3x135-MW circulating fluidized bed coal thermal plant in Villanueva. The facility has been delivering steady and cost-effective power since it began commercial operations in 2016. Throughout the epidemic, the firm is critical to maintaining the stability of the Mindanao grid.