Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 15) — The first 40,000 sets of protective personal equipment donated by the San Miguel Corporation for COVID-19 frontliners have arrived from China on Wednesday.
The company said it has chartered a Philippine Airlines plane to transport the shipment sourced from suppliers in China, for distribution to various hospitals in Luzon where most COVID-19 cases are reported.
“We are very fortunate to have been able to buy this much PPEs,” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said, adding that global demand for protective supplies amid the coronavirus pandemic is very high.
“That is why when the opportunity to buy this much came, we grabbed it, and chartered a large aircraft to bring the supplies home,” he said.
SMC earlier announced earmarking a ₱500-million fund to help better equip health workers trying to combat the COVID-19 crisis in the country.
It also earlier committed to procuring the initial 10,000 PPE coveralls to be produced by local garments manufacturers under the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines.
SMC said it plans to continue buying locally manufactured PPE to distribute to medical frontliners.
“We are hoping that with these developments, more doctors and nurses nationwide will have less worry about their safety and the availability of PPEs in the coming days and weeks,” Ang said.
The company has also donated over P227 million in food products to underprivileged communities, as well as ethyl alcohol to hospitals, LGUs, and vital installations across the country.
