In celebration of Migrant Worker's Day, BDO Unibank’s remittance service brand BDO Remit recently donated hygiene kits to the community pantry set up by Philippine Overseas Employment Administration's (POEA).
“AS COVID-19 continues to adversely impact the lives of millions of Filipinos here and abroad, the efforts to at least mitigate its effects continue,” the bank said in a statement.
The kits, consisting of alcohol and face masks, among others, will benefit some 500 people and serve as a valuable health precautionary tool as POEA distributes them to overseas Filipinos coming back home from abroad, especially for those who will travel to areas in the country with still high COVID cases.
Setting up a community pantry is POEA's own way of celebrating Migrant Worker’s Day this year as the agency was not able to hold its usual program of providing entertainment and giveaways to their clients, which POEA has been doing since 2017 in collaboration with BDO, because of health protocols.
In lieu of its usual activities, POEA decided to organize a simple community pantry this year to uplift the spirit of OFs and give them something they can use to protect themselves from the virus.
This is not the first time BDO Remit distributed health kits to OFs amid the pandemic.
Last year, in coordination with BDO Foundation, BDO Remit turned over hundreds of bags of hygiene kits to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 and the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange.
These were then distributed to OFs who were sent back to the Philippines due to the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, BDO Remit's pre-departure orientation seminar team provided hygiene kits to more than a hundred repatriated seafarers in Iloilo in cooperation with OWWA Region 6 office.
Likewise, while working with OWWA, the Philippine Overseas Labor & Office, and the Philippine General Consulate office, the BDO Remit office distributed face masks to stranded and repatriated overseas Filipinos at the Macau International Airport.
All these form part of BDO Remit's “Kayang-Kaya, Kabayan” campaign, an embodiment of its commitment to empower overseas Filipinos and make them feel that the Bank is ready to support and assist them wherever they may be.