ILOILO City – Ilonggos are grateful for the gift of love in the form of donations to combat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from the Lopezes who trace their roots to the metropolis.
The city government, represented by Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, will be signing a Memorandum of Agreement with Energy Development Corp. (EDC) for the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machine donation today, Jan. 21, via Zoom.
“We thank the Lopezes and their associates for boosting our capacity in the Uswag Molecular Laboratory to deliver timely and accurate testing services to the Ilonggos,” Treñas said.
They are donating more than P5-million worth of medical provisions which is a big help in support of the war against the virus.
This is the realization of a commitment given to the city last year by the Lopez Group of Companies through First Philippine Holdings (FPH) chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Federico Lopez, to be part of the initiatives against COVID-19.
Lopez, together with Francis Giles B. Puno, president and CEO of First Gen Corp.; and Richard B. Tantoco, president and chief operating officer of EDC, earlier wrote Treñas: “As part of our continuous support to the city, the Lopez Family and its Group of Companies would like to signify our desire and commitment to be part of your foregoing initiative by donating a set of Ribonucleic Acid Extractor and Real Time PCR Machine, Antigen Test Kits and other laboratory consumables. We believe this will augment your capacity to deliver timely and accurate testing services to our fellow Ilonggos.”
“In light of this, we would like to express our gratitude and deep respect for Iloilo City government’s unyielding efforts to fight COVID-19, of which putting up a Molecular Laboratory is a significant component of early detection and faster prevention of spread of the disease,” the benefactors said.
They added: “Again, please allow us to express our gratitude for the immeasurable service you are providing to the people of Iloilo. We trust that this letter finds all of you well and in good spirits through these challenging times, where your kind leadership and the spirit of bayanihan are most needed by our countrymen.”
It is estimated that the total value of proposed support would amount to P5.5 million.
This will cover the cost of equipment, test kits and consumables, which will be delivered in batches; as well as cost of delivery, installation and necessary technical support.
“We remain in high hopes that through the continuous cooperation of various stakeholders and the inherent resilience that resides in each one of us, we will eventually overcome this crisis,” the top business executives affirmed.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been relentless fight of both public and private sectors against COVID-19, which has seriously threatened people’s health and caused severe damage to economy and daily lives of Filipinos. (Iloilo City PIO/PN)
