San Miguel Corporation (SMC) marked Labor Day on Friday with a fresh donation of 85,000 liters of free fuel for government’s Libreng Sakay programs, which provide free transportation to thousands of medical front liners and workers reporting to hospitals throughout Metro Manila.
The donation, which consists of 40,000 liters of fuel for the Metro Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) free shuttle program and another P45,000 liters for the Department of Transportation’s (DoTR) parallel program, were provided by San Miguel subsidiaries SMC Infrastructure and Petron Corporation.
Worth an estimated P2.8 million, the fuel donation is the second such grant that the two SMC businesses have given recently to benefit medical front liners fighting the Covid-19 global pandemic. All in all, the company has given a total of 170,000 liters, worth P5.8 million, for the shuttle services.
“This is our simple way of honoring our brave and selfless medical workers on Labor Day. We want to continue honoring them by helping provide them this convenient, safe, and free means of transportation when they go on duty. Yes, it is a small thing, especially considering the risk they take and the sacrifices they make every day. But we are hoping it will at least make a little difference to them knowing that their government and donors like us, continue to support them in any way we can,” said SMC president Ramon S. Ang.
Apart from fuel, SMC Infrastructure also waives toll fees for medical front liners at toll roads it operates, namely the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR), South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), the Skyway System, NAIA Expressway (NAIAX), and the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX).
While recognizing that efficient transportation is a must for doctors, nurses, and other medical practitioners at this time, the bulk of SMC’s efforts to help medical workers is focused on providing them with life-saving equipment and much-needed COVID-19 testing machines.
Recently, SMC donated five sets of Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Covid-19 testing machines and High-Throughput Automated Nucleic Acid Extraction machines, that effectively doubles government’s testing capacity, with an additional 11,000 tests per day.
It has also distributed over 54,000 sets of medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPEs) to over 100 hospitals and another 10,000 PPEs manufactured by local garments exporters, to the Philippine General Hospital.
It has also thus far donated over 1.1 million liters of disinfecting 70% ethyl alcohol to hospitals, LGUs, and other vital institutions, made at its reconfigured liquor facilities under Ginebra San Miguel Inc.