St. Luke’s Medical Center has launched St. Luke’s Bayanihan, a relief operation for the communities in Visayas and Mindanao hit by Typhoon Odette, the 15th and strongest typhoon to hit the storm-prone country this year, as other private firms also pitched in.
Manila Water, AC Energy, PLDT/Smart and Globe Telecom also supplied water, electricity, and communications to areas hit by the typhoon, they said in separate statements.
Volunteers gathered at the Henry Sy Sr. Auditorium at SLMC-Global City and prepared the food packages distributed to families in need.
“Typhoon Odette has brought unimaginable damage to thousands of Filipino families. There is a need for each one of us to join together to help those in need,” Dr. Arturo S. de la Peña, President and CEO of SLMC.
“We earnestly hope that St. Luke’s Bayanihan will be part of a broader effort by Filipinos in successfully enabling their kababayans to rise from this natural disaster.
“We also thank our volunteers for their support, especially now as we count the days before Christmas. The spirit of Christmas is all about giving back to others and giving selflessly, and we thank our volunteers for embodying this spirit,” Dr. Dela Peña said.
He also expressed hope that St. Luke’s Bayanihan will inspire other stakeholders in society to aid the victims of Typhoon Odette.
“As individuals, we may not be able to give much to the communities in need. However, if we join hands together, we can make a difference in their lives,” Dr. de la Peña said.
“The SLMC family prays that more Filipinos will band together in helping our country surpass one of its greatest challenges in recent history.”
In related developments, Manila Water deployed two mobile treatment plants (MTP) complemented by several water tankers to Cebu and Bohol.
One MTP was sent to Liloan, Cebu and the other will be brought to Inabanga, Bohol, it said in a statement.
The MTP’s are expected to augment the much-needed supply of clean water to the typhoon-stricken communities.
The water tankers will help bring water from the MTP’s to various barangays and nearby towns.
Manila Water’s MTP has the capability of treating and converting any type of raw water—river water, flood water, even saltwater – into potable drinking water.
The treatment facilities, which are being operated by a crew of volunteer-employees from Manila Water, can each produce about 3,000 liters of drinking water per hour and can operate optimally up to 12 hours a day.
Manila Water has been sending its MTP to disaster-stricken areas even outside of Metro Manila to augment potable water supply in evacuation centers. It was deployed to Bantayan Island in Cebu after Typhoon Yolanda hit several provinces in the Visayas in 2013, it added in its statement.
Earlier this week, Manila Water Foundation sent 500 units of 5-gallon Healthy & Pure drinking water and 75 cases of hygiene products and will be sending additional 2,500 units of 5-gallon drinking water and 225 cases of hygiene kits to distressed areas in the coming days.
Other towns currently benefitting from the provision of clean water from the MTPs are Compostela and Consolacion in Cebu. Water tankers were also sent to Siargao to bring clean water to affected communities.
Meanwhile, AC Energy Corp. of the Ayala Group on Friday has restored electricity from its solar plants in the hard-hit province of Negros Occidental by facilitating the connection of Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO) to the company’s 12 km 69- kilovolt San Enrique-La Carlota transmission line.
Negros Occidental is one of the more severely affected areas by typhoon Odette, with power lines in dire need of repair and restoration.
AC Energy’s solar farms in Negros Occidental, IslaSol (Negros Island Solar Power Inc.) and SacaSol (San Carlos Solar Energy Inc.), started providing much-needed electricity last December 21, with the capacity to power over 40,000 households.
This allowed for the prioritization of power restoration of hospitals, storage areas for vaccines, banks and other critical areas to enable the continuity of operations amidst the heavy damages brought by the typhoon. AC Energy mobilized teams from its IslaSol, Sacasol and Monte Solar Energy, Inc. (MonteSol) solar plants to respond to the needs of the affected communities and accelerate power restoration.
The company is now ready to export a maximum of 115 megawatts capacity to the Visayas grid.
AC Energy ramped up its efforts on the ground to immediately reinstate operations and supply power to the municipality of Manapla and San Carlos City, working with NOCECO, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, South Negros Biopower, Inc., and local government units to restore the power in La Carlota City.
The company also helped in the disaster relief and recovery efforts, notwithstanding the challenges brought about by the widespread destruction and lack of connectivity.
While restoring vital power sources, AC Energy also responded to the needs of its host communities by setting up charging stations and installing a water filtration system to provide drinking water to the locals.
In Bais City, Negros Oriental, 500 families will receive grocery items, sacks of rice and clean, drinking water from AC Energy, with more food packs and other essentials being prepared to be transported to impacted areas in the province. Together with the Ayala group, AC Energy also mobilized urgent relief aid through the Brigada ng Ayala program, distributing food packs in Cagayan de Oro, Siargao and the southern towns of Cebu.
Ayala Foundation sent sacks of rice to families in Palawan, Surigao and Butuan City, while Ayala Land distributed grocery items to families in Cebu, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro and Palawan.
Globe also restored services in the affected areas while providing free connectivity.
AC Energy has a total of 143 MW of solar power capacity across Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental generated by its IslaSol, SacaSol and MonteSol projects.
The solar farms eliminate approximately 130,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, and have received various regional recognitions—from sustainable energy finance to wholesale electricity spot market compliance.
AC Energy is the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group. The company has over 3,000 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia.
AC Energy’s aspiration is to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 5,000 MW of renewables capacity by 2025.
The company has announced its commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
In other developments, Globe Telecom Inc. said it restored network services in Mactan Airport Cebu, Siargao Airport, and Surigao Airport, helping stranded passengers fly to their destinations and reconnect with their loved ones in time for Christmas.
Restoring services in airports is part of Globe’s priority in its post-Typhoon Odette infrastructure repairs, seeing its importance in bridging areas affected by the typhoon, and its residents, during the holiday season.
Meanwhile, Globe’s data services are now operational in the City of Ormoc and whole of Eastern Samar, while Palawan nears complete restoration. More areas are seeing significant progress in network repairs across Visayas and Mindanao, despite power issues, flooding, and infrastructure damages at the aftermath of Typhoon Odette.
In Cebu, repairs continue but challenges remain because power lines are down and there are major infrastructure damages. However, Globe was able to fully restore network services in some parts of Cebu.
PLDT and Smart, on the other hand, said wireless services are up 98 percent in Mindanao while fixed services have been restored in 99 percent of the southern Philippine region.
PLDT and Smart personnel are also working double time to restore communication services in more areas in Siargao, one of the worst hit provinces by super typhoon Odette. Pre-positioned teams and equipment made it possible for Smart to reconnect the municipality of Dapa earlier this week as more personnel arrive in the island to boost repairs and restoration efforts.
The group’s technical teams work around the clock to bring more areas back online in Visayas. By Friday morning, wireless services are up 90% in the region while fixed services are back in 62 percent of areas.
PLDT and Smart personnel work around the clock to restore communication services in other severely impacted communities in Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, and Negros provinces. However, commercial power limitations, as well as accidental cuts during clearing operations, impact repairs.
Wireless services are also back in 79 percent of Palawan. On Wednesday, Smart was first to restore communication in the southern part of the province after firing up its 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G sites.
PLDT and Smart remind customers in previously restored areas that they may experience service quality issues due to commercial power failures and line cuts during clearing operations.