Private Sector Response
Immediately after the announcement of the enhanced community quarantine, the leaders of the country's biggest business groups joined forces to help the most vulnerable of our countrymen.
Project Ugnayan had reached 2,837,367 families or 14,186,835 individuals, as of May 27.
Carlo Katigbak
President and CEO
ABS-CBN Corporation
What inspired you to support Project Ugnayan?
Caring for our countrymen is a commitment shared by ABS-CBN and the other companies in Project Ugnayan. Through Ugnayan’s P100 million donation to Pantawid ng Pag-Ibig, thousands of families received food and basic necessities that are much-needed during this very difficult time.
In a word (or a phrase), why was this initiative important to you––personally and for your company?
This was important to us because we wanted, and needed, to show that large private companies care about people.
“Through Ugnayan’s P100 million donation to Pantawid ng Pag-Ibig, thousands of families received food and basic necessities that are much-needed during this very difficult time.”
What did you value most in this collaboration with the business community?
This collaboration showed the magnitude of change that the private sector can create if we work together towards solving a big problem. We came across this issue at a time when manufacturing was constrained, transportation was limited, and distribution was challenged due to the quarantine. Despite all the limitations, Ugnayan was able to provide food to __ families. We can do so much more if we find a way to continuously pool our resources towards fixing society's deepest problems.
Manuel Fernández Amézaga
Country CEO
Sodexo Benefits & Rewards Services Philippines
What inspired you to support Project Ugnayan?
When I learned about Project Ugnayan, I did not have any second thoughts about helping the millions of Filipinos suffering because of the lockdown due to COVID-19.
In a word (or a phrase), why was this initiative important to you––personally and for your company?
We take part in showcasing the Filipino value of “bayanihan,” the spirit of communal unity, work, and cooperation to achieve a particular goal that will reach the poorest of the poor.
“As an organization, we value ‘quality of life’. And the best way to answer this call is by helping our fellowmen achieve quality of life in this time of difficulty.”
By providing these gift vouchers, we empower them to buy what they need to sustain their families.
What did you value most in this collaboration with the business community?
This collaboration brought together the efforts and resources of business communities to do something different for our country. With everything that is happening, extending help and thinking of others are what will sustain us.
Robina Gokongwei-Pe
Member, Board of Trustee
Gokongwei Brothers Foundation
What inspired you to support Project Ugnayan?
At the onset of the pandemic, the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF) Board resolved that one of the most effective ways to help was to augment the government’s social amelioration program by finding ways to provide assistance to low income communities directly and swiftly.
In a word (or phrase), why was this initiative important to you—personally and for your company?
We knew that distribution of goods right at the very doorsteps of households would be a huge logistical challenge. That is why when we saw Project Ugnayan––which, by working with various partners, will enable us to physically reach the poorest families where they are––we immediately agreed to lend our support. At GBF, other than a desire to help, we put premium on how to make sure the goods reach our countrymen in a timely manner. This project hit both those objectives.
“We believe in the power of collective action towards the common goal of helping communities especially during times of crisis.”
What did you value most in this collaboration with the business community?
Collaboration and synergy is a core value of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation.
Through Project Ugnayan and its partner organizations, GBF was able to amplify the assistance it provided as well as extend its reach by working with like-minded organizations.
The project showed that the business sector, by working and banding together, can help low- income communities in a quick and more impactful manner. Makakatulong sa mga kababayan nating nangangailangan. For GBF, it was simply seeing the arising and pressing needs of our kababayan and wanting to help them in the right way. At GBF, we valued the community network and systematic process that the collaboration brought to provide quick and direct assistance to those hardest hit by the effects of the pandemic. By working with Caritas Manila and the various parishes to reach the most vulnerable and provide for their basic needs through grocery gift certificates, Project Ugnayan was very effective in doing door-to-door distribution to the urban poor, an undertaking not every organization can easily mount especially in times of crisis.
“Being in the healthcare industry, we could not help but provide assistance to be true to our mandate of helping keep the nation healthy”
Vivian Que-Azcona
President
Mercury Drug
What inspired you to support Project Ugnayan?
We have never seen any crisis like this before and being in the healthcare industry, we could not help but provide assistance to be true to our mandate of helping keep the nation healthy.
In a word (or phrase), why was this initiative important to you—personally and for your company?
It was an opportunity to show we truly care.
What did you value most in this collaboration with the business community?
The speed of response from all sectors, the speed of execution, the engagement of church in reaching out to those who need help the most––these were what we valued in the collaboration.
Ramon Ang
President and CEO
San Miguel Corporation
What inspired you to support Project Ugnayan?
“What this present crisis has done is remind us how connected we are, and how dependent we actually are upon each other.”
I can’t remember or think of tougher times for our country. What this present crisis has done is remind us how connected we are, and how dependent we actually are upon each other. And how vulnerable we are. COVID-19 doesn’t choose its victims. Pagkakaisa, pagkakaugnay––solidarity among the different sectors in society has never been more important. So when JAZA texted to ask me to support Project Ugnayan, I immediately texted him back to say that I would donate and that we were 100% behind this effort.
In a word (or phrase), why was this initiative important to you—personally and for your company?
When I joined San Miguel, the first thing I did was to repurpose the company from a food and beverage company to one that is highly active in nation-building. Profit was never the main driving force in San Miguel; it is purpose––finding ways to improve the lives of our countrymen in everything that we do. In times of crisis like today, it is natural for us to help as much as we can.
“Profit can wait. Money that’s been lost can be made again. We put a value on saving lives, and helping the Philippines get back on its feet. Now more than ever, the country needs us”
What did you value most in this collaboration with the business community?
What we valued most was the fact that by joining hands, we helped 7.6 million of the most vulnerable Filipinos in urban communities and in the hardest-hit sectors. When different companies contribute and share resources in the spirit of cooperation and malasakit, great things can happen.
Tony Tan Caktiong
Chairman and Founder
Jollibee Foods Corporation
What inspired you to support Project Ugnayan?
We, in the Jollibee Group, recognize that no single group or organization can effectively address the social and economic impact of a health pandemic alone, especially as it relates to the most vulnerable members of our society. With the cooperation of many groups through Project Ugnayan, we saw even more clearly how this crisis has severely affected both our frontliners who risk their own lives and millions of families whose sources of income and food supply have been seriously threatened.
In a word (or phrase), why was this initiative important to you—personally and for your company?
For our part, we provided food packs directly to frontliners and families in need through the help of our store and logistics team, as well as our NGO partners. With the collective effort from different sectors, Project Ugnayan has not only extended help to the most affected families, but has also provided them with hope that during unprecedented times such as this, tulong-tulong tayo.
What did you value most in this collaboration with the business community?
So if there’s one lesson that we can all learn from Project Ugnayan, it is this:
“When we work closely together as a community, we are stronger together in the fight against COVID-19.”
Helen Y. Dee
Chairperson
Yuchengco Group of Companies
What inspired you to support Project Ugnayan?
The crisis brought about by the COVID pandemic was unprecedented. As a Filipino company with over a century of history in the country, it was natural for us to look for ways to help overcome the crisis.
“Project Ugnayan gave us an opportunity to partner with other organizations and contribute in whatever way we can to help ease the challenges brought about by the pandemic to millions of Filipinos.”
In a word (or phrase), why was this initiative important to you—personally and for your company?
I wanted to extend the support we provided to our YGC employees to other Filipinos so that they continue to keep their jobs and feed their families.
What did you value most in this collaboration with the business community?
Personal insights/learnings.
We saw Project Ugnayan not just as a venue for donation, but as an opportunity to make an impact on the affected families and communities––by helping Filipinos in a very real and direct way. This also made it clear to all the companies who joined this initiative that we are all in this together, to work beyond the temporary setback and focus on the long-term benefit to the country.
Carlos Chan
Chairman Emeritus, Oishi
What inspired you to support Project Ugnayan?
In supporting the various stakeholders during this crisis, the business community's participation was not only necessary, but needed to be timely as well. This collaboration allowed our group to assist the stakeholders as part of the business community's response.
In a word (or phrase), why was this initiative important to you—personally and for your company?
To count
“The door-to-door distribution of the grocery vouchers targeting the most vulnerable communities has its unique merits, and recipients of the vouchers can fully exercise their freedom of choice.”
What did you value most in this collaboration with the business community?
Engaging the church through Caritas Manila for the door-to-door distribution of the grocery vouchers targeting the most vulnerable communities has its unique merits, and recipients of the vouchers can fully exercise their freedom of choice.
Fernando Zobel de Ayala
President & COO
Ayala Corporation
What inspired you to support Project Ugnayan?
As soon as the Enhanced Community Quarantine was declared, we became very worried about the implications of the lockdown for the daily wage earners who constitute a significant portion of the Greater Manila Area’s population. We initially thought of organizing an Ayala Group Food Assistance Program, but we realized that this would not achieve the scale needed to make a meaningful impact on our most economically vulnerable countrymen. We realized that by engaging our friends and partners in the private sector—including Caritas Manila and the Asian Development Bank—we would be able to effectively bridge our people’s food needs until the government’s assistance programs were in full operation.
In a word (or phrase), why was this initiative important to you—personally and for your company?
Project Ugnayan was very important to us in the private sector as it allowed us to make a meaningful and impactful contribution towards overcoming the immediate challenges of our most economically vulnerable countrymen. The private sector is one with our people in finding creative ways to withstand this crisis, and we remain committed to provide support during these critical times.
What did you value most in this collaboration with the business community?
I would name three valuable things that we realized during this collaboration:
The speed and scale at which this collaboration was done really exhibits what can be achieved when there’s unity of purpose and a strong sense of trust and commitment among friends and partners.
Caritas Manila’s dedication to the cause and the effective execution of the project was certainly noteworthy. The over-600 parishes that we worked with had deep knowledge of and rapport with the most economically vulnerable families in the Greater Manila Area. This close relationship between the Church and the communities allowed us to ensure that the aid would be distributed in a timely, targeted, and dignified manner.
We saw a strong sense of empowerment in our partner communities as we were implementing the project. Through supermarket vouchers, beneficiary families had the choice of selecting the food and supplies that were appropriate for their needs. Aid distribution was also done in a dignified way ––through house-to-house distribution, in accordance with stringent health standards––to ensure that our partner communities would not have to endure long lines, uncomfortable weather, and the risk of infection.
“Project Ugnayan was certainly an inspiring collaborative effort and provides a good template for how various sectors can work together to efficiently and effectively bridge the immediate needs of those who require it the most.”
Manuel V. Pangilinan
Chairman and CEO
PLDT/SMART First Pacific Company
“We are pleased to support Project Ugnayan in helping about 11 million of our people in the early weeks of the Quarantine” This private sector effort is probably unprecedented in the world.”
Cesar Romero
President and CEO
Pilipinas Shell
What inspired you to support Project Ugnayan?
Our countrymen need help, and this is one way to support them through a very credible organization.
“Shell has always prided itself in being partners in nation building with the Filipino people throughout our 106 years of existence in the Philippines.”
In a word (or phrase), why was this initiative important to you—personally and for your company?
Shell has always prided itself in being partners in nation building with the Filipino people throughout our 106 years of existence in the Philippines. This Project is very much aligned with that philosophy.
What did you value most in this collaboration with the business community?
It gave us a chance to demonstrate that we are one with the business community in a very crucial undertaking.