Malasakit (ESG)

As the City Government of Davao aggressively rolls out COVID-19 vaccines to its residents to achieve herd immunity before the year ends, Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte underscores the importance of reliable and uninterrupted internet connection across the city’s vaccination hubs.

The MVP Group of Companies, thru the PLDT-Smart Foundation (PSF), recently delivered 2,500 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to the local government unit (LGU) of General Santos City, one of the first LGUs to receive vaccine allocations from the MVP Group.

PLDT and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc., (Smart) are partnering with the municipalities of San Miguel and Inabanga in Bohol to bring high-speed internet access closer to people and communities, providing much needed connectivity in these agriculture-dependent towns.

PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) call on the public and private sector to work together towards the improvement of the country’s Internet connectivity, to help hasten the country’s economic recovery from the pandemic.

With another school year set to start amid the threat of COVID-19, access to reliable internet remains crucial for students and learning institutions needing it for online education.

Amid dark and difficult times, the Filipino people’s resilience and camaraderie have built a more empathic culture and safer spaces online. With the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health becomes a prevalent issue that affects everyone. PLDT and Smart, through its collaborative initiative and platform Better Today, recently partnered with #MentalHealthPH, one of the country’s largest mental health advocacy groups, to drive conversations on mental health awareness.

PLDT and Smart are working with youth-led organization Kids for Kids Philippines (Kids for Kids PH) and SaferKidsPH, the pioneering consortium of Save the Children, The Asia Foundation and UNICEF, to take on the fight against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) in barangays.

In support of the massive COVID-19 immunization program of the group of multi-industry companies chaired by business leader Manuel V. Pangilinan, PLDT Inc.’s corporate business unit PLDT Enterprise and its major partner Cisco Philippines deployed technologies for MVP Group’s pilot mega vaccination sites in NCR+.

For Dr Andresul Labis of the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) in San Simon, Cagayan de Oro City, connectivity remains to be as important as ever as the country faces rising COVID-19 cases, especially for facilities located away from city centers.

PLDT Smart Foundation (PSF) recently received a donation of US$200,000 (Php10,110,000) from one of its technology partners Huawei. The donation will be used to help fund programs of PSF as well as some corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of PLDT and Smart.