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MANILA – Diversified conglomerate Gokongwei Group is playing a proactive role in the government’s initiatives against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, particularly in line with disease prevention and achieving population protection target through vaccination.
“Beyond our organization, we have been supporting the national vaccination program through various initiatives of our business units in partnership with the LGUs (local government units). The Gokongwei Group fully supports the national government’s vaccination program to safeguard the health of the Filipinos and hasten the nation's economic recovery from this pandemic,” JG Summit president and chief executive officer Lance Gokongwei said in a statement Monday.
The Department of Health (DOH) recently announced that the government vaccination drive has already reached the 10 million mark, with more than 2 million Filipinos already considered fully protected with complete Covid-19 vaccination.
To date, Cebu Pacific has already transported some 9 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from China to Manila as part of the government’s vaccination program.
With its widest domestic network in the country covering 32 destinations, the airline has already ferried more than 1.8 million vaccine doses distributed to various cities, municipalities and provinces, such as Bacolod, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Davao, Legazpi, Masbate, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Tuguegarao, Virac, Zamboanga and Dipolog, among others.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to provide our expertise in international shipments, and we hope to continuously contribute by bringing in more life-saving vaccines from abroad,” Cebu Pacific chief strategy officer Alex Reyes said.
Likewise, Cebu Pacific has supported the City of Manila for its delivery of 400,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines from China after having been allowed by the national government as the sole LGU authorized to procure directly from Beijing.
In terms of providing safe, secure and accessible venues for vaccine administration, a total of 27 Robinsons Malls have partnered with LGUs nationwide to serve as their vaccination sites.
Robinsons Land Corp. senior vice president and Business Unit general manager for Commercial Centers Division Arlene Magtibay said Robinsons Malls presence in strategic locations and key urban cities has been instrumental and is a significant factor for the LGUs to effectively roll out their vaccination drives, encompassing a large number of the Filipino population and encouraging them to be inoculated.
Meanwhile, Gokongwei Group employees belonging to the priority categories are also among those who are able to avail of the LGU initiated Covid-19 vaccination rollout happening across the country in several Robinsons Malls.
Within the Gokongwei Group, employees are being provided access to vaccines through its Covid Protect program that aims to inoculate them along with their qualified dependents and even third-party workers.
The Covid Protect program is targeted for implementation this month in partnership with Reliance United for logistics, distribution, and administration of the vaccines.
To increase awareness and proper knowledge about Covid-19 vaccination in response to potential vaccine hesitancy, a series of webinars have been rolled out to employees.
“We believe that our people are our most valuable asset as they are the lifeblood of our organization, and we recognize that health and safety is a primary concern. Thus, we highly anticipate and very much look forward to the arrival of our vaccines as this will provide us with an added layer of protection against the virus that is so vital for our economic recovery,” Gokongwei said. (PR)
