05 NOVEMBER 2019—The Philippine private sector, through the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), provided air and ground transportation, relief goods, and water and sanitation support to the national and local government following the magnitude 6.5 earthquake and aftershocks that struck Mindanao and affected over 188,000 last week.
“The private sector has a role to play in preparing for and responding to calamities. The Philippines, through PDRF, has led the way in what has now become a global movement to use the core expertise and resources of companies to help alleviate the suffering of affected communities,” said PLDT-Smart Communications Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, co-chair of PDRF.
“The private sector is committed to helping people affected by the Mindanao earthquake. Through PDRF, we are extending assistance and mobilizing resources for relief and recovery,” said Ayala Corporation Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, also a co-chair of PDRF.
As of today, the following have extended their support:
Other companies—including Cebu Pacific Air, Cebuana Lhuillier, Coca Cola Foundation, Jetti Foundation, Jollibee Group Foundation, LAMCO Paper, Manila Water, Metro Pacific Foundation, One Meralco Foundation, Pepsi Cola Products Philippines Inc., PLDT-Smart Foundation, Smart Communications, Tzu Chi Foundation, UPS Philippines, and WExpress—have also pre-positioned relief goods and committed other forms of support.
To coordinate private sector response efforts for the earthquake-hit communities, the PDRF Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has activated its eight member company clusters—Food and Non-Food; Water & Sanitation; Power, Fuel, & Energy; Finance & Insurance; Search & Rescue / Medical; Logistics; Information, Communications, & Technology; and Infrastructure—and has deployed a team to the affected areas to conduct needs assessment and coordinate the response efforts of the private sector. It continues to gather support to address the following critical needs: drinking water, tarps and bedding, latrine and hygiene kits, medicine, food packs, and logistics assistance.