Private sector sends aid to Odette-stricken communities

MANILA, Philippines — Members of the private sector, through the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), vigorously responded to the pleas of help from the areas hardest hit by Super Typhoon Odette.

The typhoon caused significant damage to food and water supplies, infrastructure, electricity, communication and transportation. To support the government in its response, the largest corporations and businesses from various industries in the Philippines are coordinating with PDRF’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Jollibee Foods Corp. and McDonald’s Kindness Kitchen provided food to over 33,000 individuals.

San Miguel turned over 10 trucks of canned goods to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for distribution.

Pilipinas Shell distributed P2.5M worth of food packs, water and hygiene kits and provided fuel supply support.

Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines and Manila Water donated thousands of gallons of drinking water to be distributed to affected areas.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation donated relief goods to Cebu and Southern Leyte.

Meralco, Aboitiz Power/Aboitiz Foundation, Cotabato and Davao Light and Power Corporation have sent linemen to Cebu and potentially other provinces to help restore power, which was identified as a critical need for the telcos, hospitals and evacuation shelters.

Smart Communications Inc. (through BizTalk and F&H Marketing) provided free calls and mobile phone charging services to evacuees.

Similarly, Globe Telecom set up free call and charging stations and provided free and unlimited GoWiFi in select malls, government offices and airports in the Visayas and Mindanao areas affected by the typhoon.

Cebu Pacific is coordinating with PDRF to transport relief packages from various donors.

Lorenzo Shipping and the Philippine Liner Shipping Association have also committed free pier-to-pier transportation of goods to the affected islands.

Consunji Construction sent teams to repair evacuation shelters in Siargao and Cebu.

Ayala Corp./Ayala Malls provided temporary shelter to customers while BPI designated evacuation centers for their employees in Cagayan de Oro, Tacloban, Bacolod and Iloilo.

In partnership with Philippine Airlines, the Makati Medical Center and Energy Development Corporation sent a medical team to Siargao and rescued over 120 people. The team is also currently working with the AFP to distribute supplies.

As of this writing, PDRF has raised P2.4 million from pledges of Maynilad, Metro Pacific Investment Corp. and Peace and Equity Foundation.

Fintech Alliance PH, PayMaya and Give2Asia have launched their own donation campaigns to help PDRF collect funds to procure and distribute relief aid. In addition to these channels, PDRF also opened international platforms through Go Fund Me and GavaGives where people worldwide can donate.

PDRF has also received support from Pilmico Foods Corp., Wilderness Search And Rescue, Metro Pacific Iloilo Water, Global Business Power, SM Mall Iloilo, Vista Mall, Festive Walk Mall, Cebuana Lhuillier Foundation, International Container Terminals Services Inc. Foundation and DMCI Logistics.

PDRF deployed its first team to Southern Leyte early last week to distribute the immediate needs of affected communities. More groups will be deployed to Cebu, Dinagat Islands and Siargao to set up PDRF satellite offices to efficiently coordinate all incoming and outgoing relief efforts. The PDRF EOC is constantly monitoring the status of these efforts and giving updates to member-companies and partner organizations.

Typhoon Odette entered the Philippine area of responsibility last Dec. 14 and made nine landfalls in Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Islands, Southern Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental and Palawan before exiting in the West Philippines Sea.

Immediate needs include ready-to-eat food, water, temporary shelter, shelter repair toolkits, hygiene kits, jerry cans, generators, solar-powered lamps, flashlights, fuel and debris clearing.

Cash donations are preferable to allow the team to adjust to the emerging needs as well as to save on the logistics costs of sending in-kind donations. For more information on how to support communities affected by Typhoon Odette, please visit: https://www.pdrf.org/how-you-can-help/

PDRF is the primary vehicle for private sector support during emergencies and is headed by co-chairs Manuel V. Pangilinan, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala and Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.