SM group ups donations for PPEs

Sy-led SM Group, through the SM Foundation, on Tuesday announced an additional donation of P70 million for the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing its total donations to P170 million.

In a statement, SM said the donations will be used to procure personal protective equipment (PPEs) for healthcare workers, support for test kits, and procurement of the ventilators for hospitals with severe cases.

Earlier this month, the company already pledged P100 million for efforts to battle the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

"As there is a local shortage of personal protective equipment - face masks, gowns, visors, hoods, gloves, and shoe covers, SM is bringing these PPEs in for government hospitals who badly need them," it said then.

According to the company, hospitals that already received PPE donations as of Friday, March 27, 2020, are the University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital, the Lung Center of the Philippines, and the Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital.

Also included in the list are major government hospitals such as the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), National Kidney and Transplant Institute, San Lazaro Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center, National Children's Hospital, Rizal Medical Center.

"Several shipments of PPEs are also on their way to provincial hospitals nationwide," SM said Tuesday.

Among locations that will receive PPEs are Bataan, Cagayan de Oro, Catanduanes, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Marawi, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Quezon, Rizal, Samar, Surigao del Sur, Tacloban. — LA, GMA News