The Philippine Navy has turned over to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) the more than P3.3 million worth of cash which it collected from its officers and personnel to assist the national government in setting up more facilities for those who were infected by the coronavirus.
Vice Admiral Giovannie Carlo Bacordo, flag-officer-in-command of the Philippine Navy, turned over the check worth P 3,301,800 to OCD administrator Ricardo Jalad in a turnover on Thursday.
"The Navy made a donation previously from the personnel subsistence allowance. With the continuing effort to address the pandemic we decided to continue to contribute to the COVID-19 response operations, and without hesitation, we did so again,” said Bacordo said.
“I would like to thank OCD for being the government's apparatus in the management of donations," he added.
For his part, Jalad said the donation will be used to support COVID-19 facilities including services of the quarantine, testing, and isolation sites nationwide as well as to support the Oplan Kalinga program.
"Three million pesos is no mean amount and coming from the subsistence allowance of our officers and personnel, it says a lot about the heart of the men and women of the Philippine Navy, in particular and that of the Armed Forces in general,” said Jalad.
“That our soldiers are not simply defensive instruments of the state but more so a partner, a strong one, in the effort of nation building." he added.