Aboitiz Group donates P100 million to help communities affected by COVID-19 lockdown

MANILA - The Aboitiz Group on Tuesday said it has donated P100 million to the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation's (PDRF) drive to help communities affected by the COVID-19 lockdown. 

The PDRF-led Project Ugnayan, which distributes P1,000 worth of grocery vouchers to urban poor families in the greater Manila area, has so far reached over 651,000 families as of April 4, Aboitiz said in a statement. 

“We are pleased to be part of this relief effort in ensuring more economically-vulnerable families receive the help they need. In these trying times, we need to step up and ensure we are able to make a difference in the lives of those who need help the most,” said Aboitiz Group president and CEO Sabin Aboitiz. 

PDRF, which is backed by some of the country's biggest conglomerates, has so far raised P1.63 billion for about 7.5 million people in poor communities, Aboitiz said. 

ABS-CBN’s Pantawid ng Pag-ibig Program and Caritas Manila’s Project Damayan were tapped to distribute the grocery vouchers, Aboitiz said. 

The Asian Development Bank meanwhile has also committed $5 million or around P250 million to PDRF, the foundation said. 

The amount will be used to distribute food packs to communities in Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna where the use of gift vouchers is viable.