MVP Group Keeps The Lights On During Pandemic

With the pandemic that continues to rage on with NEDA estimates of economic losses upward of P40 trillion for the next six years, the Filipino’s extended family concept has shone a light on the dark corners of the country, illuminating it with hope, optimism, and drive seen to overcome the effects of COVID-19.

Photo Insert: Visionary chairman Manny V. Pangilinan saw the need to brighten the days of those affected by the pandemic and swiftly hit the action switch.

That extended family concept that the Filipino is known for saw nurses, doctors, and other health workers do double time, plain folks from Pateros to East Greenhills giving ayudas to their affected neighbors, MSME owners biting the bullet of closed businesses to sustain the income of their workers, OFW workers from various countries adding remittances they send to their families and relatives, and business conglomerates helping the government’s response to the pandemic.

The response of big business to the efforts to alleviate the impact of the pandemic has been terrific. And this is especially true for conglomerates whose businesses span various industries. As the pandemic continued to wreak its havoc for the second year, the leaders of business conglomerates stepped up to fulfill a role, unrolling initiatives to temper the pernicious effects of COVID-19.

One such business conglomerate, the MVP Group of Companies, typified that extended family concept that the Filipinos are known for, especially with a clarion call from the conglomerate’s visionary chairman Manny V. Pangilinan who saw the need to brighten the days of those affected by the pandemic.

In an Easter message to the employees of Meralco, one of the companies under the MVP corporate umbrella, Pangilinan, also chair of the utility company, said: “ You are bearers of torches that give light to the dark corners of our country – not just mirrors passively reflecting the light of others.”

And thus was born the mantra “keeping the lights on,” that saw through the delivery of basic services even with the challenging quarantine lockdowns. The lights flickered on in different forms delivered by businesses under the MVP Group, some with innovative twists, others resonating with unalloyed help, and still others with sustainability etched all over.

Metro Pacific Investment Foundation, the MVP Group’s corporate social responsibility arm (CSR) kept the lights on for families in marginalized communities especially those not covered by the government’s social amelioration reach.

MPIF president Melody del Rosario said those helped included “persons with disabilities, informal settlers, senior citizens, pregnant and lactating mothers, and the indigenous communities. “ Also the CSR arm reached out to the frontline health workers equipping them with PPEs, supplying them food, water, and medicines.

One Meralco Foundation (OMF) for its part, mobilized a novel “From Farmers to Frontliners’ Initiatives that saw to it that fresh vegetables from the Cordillera region that would otherwise have gone rotting due to the challenging transport problems are provided to front-liners in Metro Manila’s hospitals.

OMF president Jeff Tarayao told The Financial District that one notable initiative that the employees put together was a program that encouraged employees to donate a day’s salary dubbed “ A Day to Give” that raised about P10 million, money that was later on used to help contractor employees on a daily rate basis who will not get compensation during the ECQ.

PLDT-Smart Foundation has turned over connectivity devices such as smartphones, prepaid home Wifis and SIMs with load allocations in Metro Manila and in VisMin areas while other companies came up with other initiatives all meant to help in the government’s response to the pandemic.

Metro Pacific’s Tollways Corp initiated the supply of rice, noodles, and canned goods to community pantries in the vicinity of the NLEx routes, provided motorboats to Cordova in Cebu, site of the third bridge to the Cebu airport, while Maynilad helped artisans along the Ipo dam to put to good use floating tree trunks that were fashioned into works of art aside from providing water to front-liners and LGUs.

There were other countless initiatives that the MVP Group put forth to help in lighting up initiatives to the government’s response against the pandemic and lately, the conglomerate went full blast in leading in the first wave of provincial vaccinations with a new initiative it dubbed #WeGotYourVac Program.

For Pangilinan, the vaccine program that the NEDA said is needed to redirect the arc of economic growth to pre-pandemic levels, is as important as the various initiatives that the MVP Group has put together to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on the affected populace.

And here, for lawyer Mike Toledo of Philex, what the mining firm did is to serve as the regional hub of that vaccine program that is key to snatching the Philippines away from the jaws of economic depression. In this regard, the MVP Group is now going full blast towards the country’s vaccine program.

“Our vaccines, through the essential services we offer groupwide — from hospitals, tele-communications, and digital services, electricity, water, tollways and road infrastructure, media, and more – have been and will continue to be the key source of stability as the Philippines emerges from this global crisis,” Pangilinan said.

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