Ramon Ang says he tested positive for COVID-19 thrice

San Miguel Corporation president Ramon Ang on Wednesday announced that he tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) thrice.

During the 2021 National Tax Campaign, Ang said the challenges that came his way in 2020 were humbling experiences.

“Ang natutunan natin ay maging humble. For the first time in my life, I experienced ‘yung mga masasakit na pangyayari na nangyari nung 2020. Namatayan po ako ng anak at tatlong beses po akong tinamaan ng COVID-19,” Ang said.

Jomar, Ang’s son, died in April. The family did not elaborate on the details.

“Despite that, tuloy-tuloy pa rin tayong nagtra-trabaho at concentrating to produce more food para hindi maubusan ng pagkain ang mga kababayan natin,” he added.

The company also experienced challenges, the business tycoon said.

“Sa negosyo naman po, nahirapan ho kami. Marami ho talagang paghihirap ‘yung negosyo. Pero sa ganon pa man, maayos naman natin pinapatakbo ang negosyo natin ay maganda ang kinalabasan,” he said.

San Miguel Corporation suffered a financial beating in the first half of 2020 amid COVID-19’s spread with a net loss of P4 billion.

Ang said that despite the challenges, San Miguel came to the aid of individuals in need during the pandemic.

“[A]t nagtayo din tayo ng mga laboratory, PCR testing laboratory para matulungan ‘yung mga kababayan natin at mga empleyado natin. At hindi rin tayo naging madamot sa pagtulong sa mga nangangailangan,” he said.

In July, San Miguel opened a facility that houses the company’s state-of-the-art COVID-19 testing laboratory which aims to test some 70,000 employees in its network.

It also donated five sets of testing machines and test kits to critical government centers in the country in April 2020.

“Makakaasa po kayo na tutulong din po ang San Miguel magtayo ng mas marami pang negosyo at magtayo ng mas maraming infrastracture para makagaan sa ating mga kababayan,” he said.

The Philippines has reported 553,424 COVID-19 cases with 512,033 recoveries and 11,577 fatalities.—Joahna Lei Casilao/LDF, GMA News