After it publicly appealed for help due to its dwindling supply of food and other necessities, a distressed orphanage in Manila received its much-needed aid from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
Located at the Isla de Convalecencia - a narrow island on the Pasig River in Quiapo, Manila - Hospicio de San Jose was placed on a lockdown after some of its staff and several elderly wards contracted coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Hospicio de San Jose is an orphanage run by the Daughters of Charity. According to its Administrative Staff Princess Borcilio, the food supply and other basic necessities started running low since the charitable institution was locked down.
“Mula po ng magkaroon ng lockdown nag simula na pong bumaba ang supply ng pagkain dito sa Hospicio (When the lockdown was imposed, the supply of food also started to decrease here in Hospicio),” Borcilio said.
PAGCOR, in a statement issued Friday, April 30, said that its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andrea Domingo swiftly mobilized the personnel to deliver canned food items that will benefit 2,000 wards of the charitable facility.
“The dangers and threats brought by COVID-19 are very serious. But we can’t allow these things hamper the delivery of much-needed aid to those who need it most,” Domingo said.
Domingo also sent her personal donations of boxes of freshly baked breads, noodles, canned goods, milk for the children, biscuits, and eggs. “A concerned individual helping the Hospicio de San Jose sounded the distress call to the public, and we hope that in our little way, we were able to respond to that call,” she added.
Meanwhile, the Hospicio de San Jose expressed gratitude to Domingo for heeding their call and for immediately sending necessary aid to their wards.