San Miguel charters flight to bring in PPEs from China

San Miguel Corporation (SMC) on Wednesday announced the arrival of the first batch of protective gear from China, as part of the conglomerate's P500-million fund for the procurement of medical equipment.

In a statement, SMC said it chartered an aircraft from the Philippine Airlines (PAL) to ferry in personal protective equipment (PPEs) sourced from suppliers in China.

This includes 40,000 hazmat suits and goggles which will be donated by the company to frontline healthcare workers.

"We are very fortunate to have been able to buy this much PPEs. Globally, demand is so high," said SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang.

"Many of the big countries want to buy them all. That is why when the opportunity to buy this much came, we grabbed it, and chartered a large aircraft to bring the supplies home," he added.

San Miguel earlier said it has allocated P500 million to acquire PPEs for frontline workers amid the global health crisis brought about by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News