Due to the disaster wrought by a string of three strong typhoons, BDO Remit—the remittance service brand of BDO Unibank—has waived the remittance fee on donations from overseas Filipinos coursed through different foundations.

In a statement, the bank said the zero remittance fee for these donations started last November 4 and will last until December 31, 2020.

"The year 2020 has been very challenging. But we have to recover, and we have to be there for our Kabayans who are in dire need of help," said BDO Senior Vice President and Remittance Head Genie T. Gloria.

Gloria added that, “Hopefully, with this, we can encourage more donations from our overseas Filipinos to those adversely affected by the recent typhoons.”

Overseas Filipinos may remit their donations free of service fees via any BDO Remit office abroad to BDO Unibank's corporate social responsibility arm, BDO Foundation, Inc., the Philippine Red Cross, GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc., and ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, Inc.

BDO Remit has nine subsidiary offices outside the Philippines. In Asia, BDO Remit has offices in Macau, Hong Kong, and Japan. In North America, BDO Remit is located in Daly City, USA & in Toronto, Canada while in Europe; BDO Remit has presence in the United Kingdom.

For the complete list of addresses, visit bdo.com.ph, go to Remittance Services and click BDO Remit international network.

Meanwhile, BDO Foundation, in coordination with BDO and BDO Network Bank branches, has already begun sending relief packs containing food and drinking water to families hit by Typhoon Ulysses.

This is the latest disaster response initiative BDO Foundation has undertaken. Earlier, it has distributed relief goods to more than 36,000 families hit by Typhoons Pepito, Quinta, and Rolly.

Relief work in Rolly-stricken provinces is still ongoing.

BDO Foundation has already distributed relief packs to almost 11,000 affected families in Albay, Camarines Sur, and Catanduanes, the provinces hit hardest by the super typhoon.

In line with its disaster response advocacy, BDO Foundation immediately sent relief packs containing food, rice and drinking water to more than 14,000 families stricken by Pepito and Quinta in Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Quezon—provinces hit hardest by the typhoons.

The corporate citizenship initiative was made possible by officers of BDO and BDO Network Bank branches, who helped gather beneficiary information and identify barangays that needed assistance. Logistical support was provided by local government units and partner non-governmental organizations.