CATEEL, Davao Oriental, Aug. 12— The disaster response arm of Manny V. Pangilinan Group of Companies distributed Wednesday last week 700 school kits, teachers’ kit and books in Cateel Central Elementary School and signed livelihood assistance with the provincial government.
Serving as the consolidated disaster response office under the MVP Group of Companies, Tulong Kapatid brought to Cateel, Davao Oriental its executives headed by PLDT-Smart Foundation President Ester O. Santos who personally handed over school supplies to pupils and teachers.
Santos revealed the school supplies to have been donated by employees of PLDT and other companies under the MVP Group.
Aside from turning over school supplies, Santos and her team together with partners from the Philippine Construction’s Association, also inspected the new eight-classroom Tulong Kapatid-funded school building which is already on the last phase of construction and due for turn-over.
After the school building, Tulong Kapatid will immediately start constructing its initial housing project in Brgy. Lambajon in the municipality Baganga, Santos said while revealing MVP’s intention to finish such project before the year ends.
During the distribution of school kits, the team also handed over vegetable seeds in support to the Gulayan sa Paaralan program of the Department of Interior and Local Governance (DILG).
Livelihood assistance
On top of the school kit distribution, the Tulong Kapatid visit resulted in a signing of a memorandum of agreement between the provincial government of Davao Oriental and three MVP companies particularly One Meralco, PLDT-Smart Foundation, TV5 Alagang Kapatid.
Signed with the Ad Jesum Development Foundation, the MOA seeks to provided livelihood support for about 300 farmers in the three affected towns of Boston, Cateel and Baganga.
Based on the MOA, each town is allocated with an amount of one million pesos that will be downloaded through the Ad Jesum Development Foundation. As part of its concerted efforts, the PLDT-Smart would handle Baganga, One Meralco for Cateel, while TV 5 Alagang Kapatid will handle Boston.
While the financial release is divided in three tranches, submission of an accomplishment report on the project’s progress is required before the release of the ensuing tranche of financial assistance.
The financial support for livelihood is intended for the procurement of farming implements and for debris clearing to fast track resumption of farmers on their farming activities, since livelihood efforts cannot be pursued unless farming areas are being cleared of debris.
Short-term gestation crops will then be given to the farmers while waiting for the coconut crops to be provided by the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).
The first to help
After Davao Oriental was pinned under the worst disaster to ever hit the province, Tulong Kapatid immediately rolled out emergency and long-term recovery initiatives in the province, targeting the three hard-hit towns of Boston, Cateel and Baganga.
Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon extended her gratitude to Tulong Kapatid and the PLDT-Smart for support they are providing, to include relief operation and feeding programs to affected residents, and repair and installation of power lines, tapping their business networks for potential investments and assistance.
While the PLDT-Smart Foundation under the MVP Group of Companies has committed to build more than 800 homes across the three worst-affected towns, the first 300 homes are already set for construction in a resettlement site in Baganga.
The MVP Group is the first private sector to build permanent shelters for the typhoon victims, with funds sourced from donations collected during the telethon fundraising aired in December on TV5, that was an initiative of its CEO Manny V. Pangilinan. (Karen Lou Deloso-PIO/JMDA-PIA XI)
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