The fight against the coronavirus pandemic entails the participation of everyone.
This is the reason why the Philippine Seven Corporation, the exclusive licensor of 7-Eleven in the Philippines, is doing its part by involving all of its 2,951 stores nationwide in the gathering of data at the barangay level.
After surveying 38,000 individuals in 7,000 inner neighborhoods last August, 7-Eleven found out that only 60% of people in the vicinity of their stores wore masks, prompting the company to install a COVID-19 update poster in each of its 2,951 stores nationwide once barangay level data was made publicly available in mid-September.
“We hope to continue to serve our communities through the BIDA partnership, and empower our barangays with the information to fight and contain the pandemic,” said PSC President and CEO Victor Paterno, referring to their BIDA Solusyon Campaign partnership with the Department of Health’s in taking the fight against COVID-19 to the barangay level.
7-Eleven is elevating awareness about COVID further by informing its customers about the number of active COVID-19 cases at their local barangay level.
The barangay information drive that pushes for wearing masks, washing hands, and keeping distance as key ways to prevent the spread of the virus, reflects the private sector’s contribution towards the DOH’s transition from a top-down approach towards managing COVID-19, to one that focuses on strengthening the pandemic response at the grassroots.
“Our management philosophy is ‘show the right data in the right form to the right people at the right time, and they will make the right decisions.’ You can’t look over the shoulder of every store manager when you have 3,000 stores – you have to give him the freedom to manage his store, but at the same time let him know how he is doing, so he can either be left alone, recognized, or held accountable. We think the same is true with regard to managing COVID-19,” said Paterno.
Through the information drive and other capacity-building initiatives for the LGUs and their respective Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTS), 7-Eleven, the DOH, and the DILG seek to empower more people with the ability to protect themselves from the virus.
“BHERTs are the first-line responders to the public for any COVID-19-related health concern,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Singh Vergeire. “Through 7-Eleven’s information drive initiative, the BHERTs, and the Barangay Disiplina Brigades, we aim for a stronger response at where transmission is most common: the barangay level.”
"We remain committed to serving the communities we operate in, despite the challenges. Aside from our efforts to implement safety measures in our stores to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees and customers, we continue to adapt to the changing needs of our customers. We offer more convenient options such as partnerships with Food Panda for delivery, cashless transactions, as well as a wider selection of items for our customers. We help the community by providing a convenient option for them to shop for their needs quickly, one that’s closer to their homes/ offices, and where they don’t have to worry about long lines. We’ve also experienced some cases where LGUs asked us to extend our operating hours early on in the CQ, especially since our stores served as one of the few places where frontliners could turn to at odd hours,” Paterno said.
7-Eleven is also launching a Bidang Barangay Contest in more than 50 major cities and municipalities nationwide. Having provided information about local barangay’s active cases, 7-Eleven is encouraging both the barangay’s local BHERT officials and residents to be proactive partners in sharing information about COVID-19 their locality.