GCash, partners raise P3.52M for health workers

Financial technology firm GCash and its non-government organization (NGO) partners have raised more than P3 million through its digital donation drive aimed at providing medical gear for health workers battling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat.

In a statement, GCash said its #FightCovid19 campaign has so far raised roughly P3.52 million in individual donations.

GCash has partnered with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), World Vision, UP Medical Foundation, PGH Foundation, Inc., ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, and Ayala Foundation for its #FightCOVID19 digital donation campaign.

To send their support, GCash said users simply have to click on the “Pay Bills” icon on their GCash apps, choose the “Others” tab, and click on “FightCOVID19.”

Users then have to enter their name and the amount to confirm their donation.

“While we encourage GCash users to support our fundraising, it is encouraging for us to see our mobile digital wallet being used by individuals and other organizations as a conduit of good, especially during trying times. We hope that as Filipinos digitally band together as a nation, we can quickly eradicate the virus and go back to normalcy,” GCash president Anthony Thomas said.

The fintech firm noted that individually-initiated donation drives are making waves amid the reported scarcity of personal protective equipment (PPEs) in hospitals.

“Likewise, groups and individuals are seeking support to fund relief goods for the families that are in need of food and personal hygiene kits, as major cities and provinces impose their own community quarantine protocols,” GCash said.

The company cited a group of friends, namely Shary Laiz, Erika Jean Ente, and Alyana Singian who are encouraging Twitter users to donate P20 to their mobile wallets to purchase hand sanitizers and soaps for the homeless.

They are part of religious group Agape Christian Church International.

Quezon City-based professional alliance Save San Roque is also seeking both donations in cash and in-kind to help the community of Sitio San Roque cope with the effects of the viral threat, according to GCash.

The group aims to gather as many goods as they can to distribute to the residents of the barangay.

People for Accountable Governance and Sustainable Action, a group of friends, also took to social media the call for donations for the purchase of a weekly “survival pack” for communities in Tatalon, Talayan, Pinyahan, and Payatas as well as for the mothers in Tondo and Commonwealth.

Each pack includes rice, canned goods, coffee, powdered milk, sugar, bread, and vegetables.

Youth-led movement Zero Hunger Philippines is also gathering monetary donations to provide food bags to over 10,000 families in select provinces in Luzon.

Tulong Kabataan, another youth movement, is also building up funds to supply food and hygiene kits to relocation sites and urban poor communities in Tacloban, Quezon City, and Manila.

Medical interns of Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center have also launched their social-media-based donation drive for the staff of the hospital, who are in need of masks, caps, alcohol, gloves, and disposable gowns for treating suspected COVID-19 cases.

Other NGOs such as Project Tanglaw, Caritas Manila, and Tayo Kabataan are pooling donations to provide food and hygiene kits to the less fortunate and those who are most hit by the threat of the virus, as well as donate PPEs to hospitals in need.

"There are hundreds more donation drives that are happening across the Philippines today, signaling the strong revival of the Filipino culture of Bayanihan — only that with the strict implementation of community quarantines and social distancing protocols, donations are facilitated through mobile phones," GCash said.

The mobile wallet platform said it has been seeing spikes in the number of money transfers from one mobile wallet to another, as people collectively fight COVID-19 through digital donation drives.

Caritas Manila, for instance, has so far collected almost P850,000 in individual donations through GCash, it said.

“It’s heartwarming to see first hand how the uniquely Filipino spirit of bayanihan works. Since day one, we have envisioned the GCash platform to be a channel of good, and now we are seeing individuals and organizations maximizing the GCash app to efficiently facilitate donations for noble causes. We hope that as we further develop our platform, we continue to make a meaningful impact in the lives of those in need,” Thomas said.—AOL, GMA News