Private companies commit to support the national government and the StaySafe.ph contact tracing application. They hope that government and private sector collaboration will usher in the safe reopening of the country’s economy. (Contributed photo)
MANILA – Some of the country’s biggest private companies are supporting StaySafe.ph, a contact tracing application launched Thursday by the national government to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
The launch, which was done in the city of Manila, received commitment from the private sector to partner with the national government in its response against the pandemic.
Some 11 companies, including SM Supermalls, McDonalds, Jollibee Foods Corporation, Alliance Global which includes Megaworld Corporation, Union Bank, Yuchengo Group of Companies including RCBC Bank, Filinvest, JG Summit which handles Robinsons Malls, Metrobank, Resto.ph, and Angkas expressed support in collaborating with the government.
Citing that the application will effectively trace Covid-19 close contacts and warn the public on “nearby danger”, they hope that this will also help the country push economic reopening.
Through the app, Steven Tan of SM Supermalls said everyone will now have the power to help one another stay safe.
He said they did not hesitate to answer the call for support as soon as they heard of the initiative.
Tan said it is “our civic duty to our country in this challenging times. It is also part of our ongoing responsibility to help our people, our tenants and the customers stay safe even as we help gradually restart the economy”.
Prioritizing safety of their food and the public as well, McDonalds Philippines President and CEO Kenneth Yang said the company pledges full support to the national government and the use of this new contact tracing app.
“At McDonalds, we have established the M safe campaign and our priority is to keep our employee safe because if we keep our employee safe, we know we can keep our customers safe,” he said.
Currently, Yang said restaurants ask customers to fill out handwritten health declaration forms which are tedious and not really effective, believing that the new app will be a better contact tracing tool for everyone.
Jollibee Foods Corporation also expressed excitement to join and support the government, according to its group president, Pepot Minana.
“Our top priority is the safety of our customers and our employees and so it actually says exactly what we want, that everybody should stay safe,” he said.
The companies said that through the public and the private sector collaboration, the country will be able to better fight Covid-19.
They added that the launch sends an important message of speaking one language and having a unified effort in becoming more effective in stemming the transmission of the disease.
Heads of these big companies also expressed appreciation to the national government, including the people behind the staysafe.ph application, for inviting them to participate in the initiative.
The national government, meanwhile, recognized that fighting the pandemic cannot be done by the government alone, and that the public and the private companies' commitment to help is a big factor in containing and delaying the spread of Covid-19. (PNA)
