Google, through its philanthropic arm Google.org, is giving an additional $1.5 million worth of Search Ad grant to Philippine government agencies to help provide Filipinos with continued access to authoritative and relevant information about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Connecting Filipinos to trusted information about COVID-19 remains a top priority at Google. We hope that through the additional Search Ad grant, we are able to support the government in surfacing important messages online including public service announcements to help keep people safe and informed amid the ongoing pandemic,” said Bernadette Nacario, Google Philippines Country Director.
From the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 to January 2022, Google Ad grants supported more than 107 million COVID-19-related public service announcements in the Philippines. The grants also drove over 11 million visits to authoritative health websites locally.
Search Ads allow people to display their website listing at the top of the search results, and drive more traffic to their website. By providing ad grants, Google is helping government agencies amplify their messages at no cost to them.
Among the agencies included in the grant are the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Education (DepEd), and the Department of Tourism (DOT).
“Access to credible information remains to be a crucial part of our efforts to keep Filipinos safe as we continue our fight against the pandemic. We thank Google for being our steadfast partner in helping us surface authoritative information, reach more people, and combat vaccine misinformation online,” said the Health Promotion Bureau Director of the Department of Health, Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho.
“Access to reliable information plays an important role in leading small businesses and entrepreneurs towards economic recovery. The Search Ad grant will enable us to achieve this goal and we thank Google for being our partner not just in connecting Filipinos to information that matters but to the opportunities of the growing digital economy,” said Mary Jean Pacheco, Assistant Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry.