Sat | 03.28.2020 | 09:00 PM
As a way of showing its gratitude to healthcare frontliners, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) distributed food packs to 1,800 healthcare workers from three public hospitals in Marikina, Pasay and Parañaque on March 28, 2020.
Amang Rodriguez Medical Center in Marikina received 600 food packs; Pasay City General Hospital and Pasay City Health Office received a total of 800 food packs; and Ospital ng Parañaque received 400 packs.
PAGCOR initially purchased P1.44 million worth of food items including rice, canned goods, noodles, coffee, chocolates, and cookies.
Meanwhile, several volunteer PAGCOR employees went out of their way to hasten the repacking of goods for distribution, despite going through several checkpoints due to the enhanced community quarantine.
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo said that reaching out to Filipinos in times of calamities and crisis has been one of the agency’s core social responsibility commitments.
“Where there are natural disasters or other calamities, PAGCOR has always been lending a hand – providing immediate relief to those who are most affected. Now, as our country wages war against the novel corona virus-19 (COVID-19), we want to show our deep respect and support for our healthcare workers at the frontline,” she said.
Aside from the 1,800 food packs for healthcare workers, the state-run gaming agency is procuring 150,000 food packs for distribution to various sectors and communities. Likewise, the gaming regulator is working closely with its licensed integrated-resort casinos for the purchase and donation of personal protective equipment (PPEs) for frontliners.
Recently, PAGCOR also facilitated the distribution of 25,000 food packs for various local government units in Luzon. The food packs were purchased through the P150 million funding from licensed Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.
PAGCOR has also recently released a total of P20.5 billion to help cushion the economic impact of the COVID-19 in the country. Of this amount, P12 billion cash dividends was remitted to the National Treasury and P8.5 billion was released to the Socio-Civic Projects Fund (SCPF) of the Office of the President. From the said SCPF remittance, P2.5 billion was immediately donated to the Department of Health (DoH) to supplement the needed funds in battling the virus.