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Tag: Department of Health (DOH)

  • Shopee teams up with the Department of Health to push Booster Vaccination

    Shopee teams up with the Department of Health to push Booster Vaccination

    MANILA, PHILIPPINES, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022 –  In line with its continuous commitment to help every Filipino increase their protection against COVID-19, Shopee has partnered with the Department of Health (DOH) for the Bakunahang Bayan: PinasLakas Special Vaccination Days campaign from September 26-30, to facilitate the rapid mobilization of COVID-19 vaccination among all eligible populations.

    As part of the campaign, a dedicated page will be accessible in-app to educate users on the benefits and importance of vaccination from September 26 to 30, 2022. Local government units (LGUs) across the country are likewise encouraged to include vaccination sites such as schools, malls, plazas, and places of worship where Filipinos can conveniently walk-in to get their COVID-19 booster shot on special vaccination days.

    Martin Yu, Director at Shopee Philippines, shared, “It is a great privilege for us to partner with the DOH once again. Through this partnership, we aim to leverage our platform to provide Filipinos with access to accurate and important information about booster shots and COVID-19 vaccination. Through proper education and collaboration, we can work together to fight the spread of COVID-19 in the Philippines.”

    This campaign is one of the multiple initiatives that Shopee has launched to support Filipinos in their pre to post vaccination journey. In 2021, Shopee launched the Resbakuna Vaccine Education Campaign, also in partnership with the DOH; the Fully Vaxxed package which incentivized users to complete their vaccination doses; and Vaccination Center Support, which provided food, health essentials, and air coolers to chosen vaccination centers in Makati, Taguig, and Quezon City.

    Assistant Secretary Beverly Lorraine Ho, OIC-Undersecretary of the Department of Health shared “Every Filipino plays a vital role in achieving the wall of immunity and protecting every single member of our community, especially the most vulnerable. We are grateful to be partnering with Shopee once more to maximize their platform in effectively reaching, engaging, and educating even more Filipinos on the importance of getting their COVID-19 vaccines and booster doses.”

    With the  aim of boosting 50 percent of the general population and fully vaccinating 90 percent of the target senior citizens, the Bakunahang Bayan: PinasLakas Special Vaccination Days campaign is expected to educate Filipinos of the benefits the COVID-19 vaccines provide. Through these initiatives, the DOH hopes to encourage even more of our kababayans to receive their booster shots, most especially our senior citizens and the vulnerable population.

    From September 26-30, users can learn more about Bakunahang Bayan: PinasLakas Special Vaccination Days through the dedicated in-app page on the Shopee app.

    REFERENCE:

    Hannah Tejuco

    Shopee | Marketing | Public Relations

    Mobile +63 917 808 4894

    Viber +63 917 705 4447

    Address 15F Asian Century Center (ACC) Building, 27th St. Corner 3rd Ave. BGC, Taguig 1634

  • Cebu Pacific Takes Active Role in Odette Disaster Relief

    Cebu Pacific Takes Active Role in Odette Disaster Relief

    In the wake of the destruction brought by Typhoon Odette in Visayas and Mindanao just one week before Christmas 2021, Filipinos gathered in the name of bayanihan to help the affected families and communities rise and rebuild.

    Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines’ leading airline, worked hand-in-hand with government agencies, non-profit organizations, and regular citizens in extending help and uplifting lives. With its large, nationwide coverage of flights and personnel who are rooted in the company value of service excellence, CEB was able to quickly mobilize relief to affected areas.

    From the air to on-the-ground

    The country’s preferred cargo carrier with the widest domestic network partnered with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) and the Office of Civil Defense to provide special humanitarian flights for 32 medical personnel from Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital and Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium, along with a cargo of assorted medicines and medical equipment from the Department of Health (DOH) to the CARAGA Region via Siargao. This was part of an urgent medical mission to Odette-impacted communities who were suffering from a stomach flu outbreak due to the lack of potable water in these areas.

    PDRF President Butch Meily was thankful for the airline’s help in bringing medical aid to those communities. “Cebu Pacific’s assistance has been crucial in getting the PDRF team, healthcare professionals, medicine, and relief goods to areas where they were desperately needed. We are grateful to the men and women of the airline for their support,” he said.

    The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) likewise tapped the logistical support of Cebu Pacific to expedite the delivery of relief items to areas affected by Typhoon Odette. Around 1,340 family food packs were transported by the airline to Caticlan, Cebu, and Palawan from December 22 to 30, 2021. The cargo also included 30,000 pieces of Disaster Assistance Family Access Card (DAFAC) forms which helped the DSWD ensure that all families hit by Typhoon Odette are given appropriate assistance through a monitoring system. 

    “With the extent of damage caused by Typhoon Odette in transportation, electricity and communication lines, the generosity and support of Cebu Pacific to the DSWD’s relief operations greatly helped in the expeditious delivery of the much-needed assistance to our affected kababayans,” DSWD Secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista said.

    One of the challenges in the disaster-stricken areas was to prevent a surge of COVID-19 in their evacuation centers. To help monitor the number of COVID cases in Eastern Visayas, the World Health Organization (WHO) Philippines dispatched 2,000 rapid antigen test kits to the region, tapping Cebu Pacific as its logistics partner to transport the test kits to Tacloban City last January 7. Cebu Pacific airlifted additional antigen kits for WHO Philippines on the week of February 7     .

    Cebu Pacific was also supportive of private initiatives such as the distribution of Waves for Water filtration systems by travel vlogger Kyle Jennerman and Northern Mindanao Mountaineering Society to the coastal barangays Bayanihan and San Antonio in the Municipality of Libjo in Dinagat islands. The airline was able to fly out the filtration buckets from Manila to provide safe drinking water for the communities. “Without the help of Cebu Pacific, we wouldn’t have been able to bring these donated water filters at a critical time when its most needed in the community. We are so thankful.” according to volunteer organizer Sam Jennings.

    Animal welfare was another major concern during the recent calamity, and Cebu Pacific helped PeTA Asia care for the affected people and pets by carrying three shipments of 350kgs of animal and human food including rice, canned goods, water filters, vet meds, solar panel, tarps, and drinking water for the Bohol Animal Rescue and Kindness (BARK) Center in Bohol and the Island Rescue Organization in Cebu.

    Continuous commitment

    Massive rebuilding efforts are still being conducted in many of the typhoon-affected areas. Damage to agriculture and infrastructure has been reported in several areas of Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Caraga, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

    With the renowned resilience of the Filipino, affected communities are rising up against the challenges, and Cebu Pacific Air is committed to continuing its support for these initiatives.

    “Aside from offering safe and reliable travels to our different local and international destinations, we want to continue to make life better for veryjuan, and this includes being there for our kababayans most especially in their time of need,” says Michael Ivan Shau, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Cebu Pacific.  

    For those interested to partner with CEB, humanitarian requests may be sent to socialresponsibility@cebupacificair.com. 

    REFERENCE:

    Apollo Noel Santos

    Public Relations Supervisor

    M: +63 927 317 3737

    E: apollo.santos@stratworks.ph | aasantos.swi@gmail.com | www.stratworks.ph

  • As HIV cases among Filipino males rise, Durex calls for continued awareness and support to the LGBTQIA+ community

    As HIV cases among Filipino males rise, Durex calls for continued awareness and support to the LGBTQIA+ community

    With the ongoing pandemic, the COVID-19 virus has been on everybody’s mind, causing tremendous anxiety and fear in everyone. While undeniably COVID-19 has resulted in a health crisis of unparalleled proportions, the issue of HIV in the Philippines alongside that of LGBTQIA+ community concerns still remains a critical one, more so in view of the latest data from the Department of Health (DOH) and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS).

    Statistics from the DOH show that the average number of people newly diagnosed with HIV on a daily basis is at 35. Furthermore, the number of HIV cases among sexually active males has been considerable, with January to December 2019 figures pegged at 7,743 male to male transmissions.

    Additional data shows that from January 1984 to December 2019, sexual contact among men who have sex with men (MSM) is at 85% or 59,906, and was the predominant mode of transmission. This is followed by male-female sex at 11% or 7,476, and sharing of infected needles at 3% or 2,166. More than half of men who have sex with men at 52% or 31,377 were 25-34 years old at the time of testing, and 31% or 18,555 were 15-24 years old.

    These figures resulted in the DOH Central Office National AIDS and STI (sexually transmitted infection) Prevention and Control Program to sound the alarm over how more young Filipino men are being infected by HIV.

    Meanwhile, data from the 2019 Global AIDS Report shows that the population size estimate of men who have sex with men stands at 830,000, with an HIV prevalence of 5%, HIV testing and status awareness at 28.4%, and condom use at 40.1%. In the same study, the population size estimate of transgenders stands at 190,000, HIV testing and status awareness at 36.3%, and condom use at 40.6.%.

    “The lockdown imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought many challenges and difficulties to a lot of people, where people living with HIV (PLHIV) have not been spared,” says Dr. Louie Ocampo, Country Director of UNAIDS Philippines. “Early on, for example, accessing life-saving antiretroviral therapy and prevention services including condoms became difficult. It’s imperative therefore that all stakeholders’ work together to ensure uninterrupted access to HIV services is provided and that we remain relentless in our drive to curb a possible second wave of the HIV epidemic in the country.”

    Truly no one is invincible to catching HIV, and now more than ever, the use of protection and the importance of always being prepared in encounters cannot be stressed enough. This bares even more relevant with the recently concluded virtual celebration of Pride Month – with the call of the LGBTQIA+ community, one of the most vulnerable sectors of HIV, for inclusivity and acceptance – and the active participation of Durex.

    Through its No One Way Love All Ways Campaign, which emphasizes that there’s really no one way to own your sexuality, Durex continues the fight to curb the spread of HIV in the Philippines, even in this season of COVID-19.

    Beyond the No One Way Love All Ways Campaign, Durex has a host of other worthwhile initiatives in partnership with various stakeholders. Included here is the brand’s donation of condoms to the Taguig City Health Office last April, which were then distributed to health centers as well as being made available for the city’s telemedicine program. Durex is also donating P20K worth of products to LoveYourself for their National HIV Prevention Month activities this August.

    Without question, hand in hand with the present fight against COVID-19, so must the fight for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community and people living with HIV continue. So, too, is the need to arrest the alarming rise in HIV cases in the country.

    REFERENCE:

    John Paulo Ondra Caparros

    Public Relations Department

    Strategic works, Inc.

    +638937472 | +639173068591

    john.caparros@stratworks.ph

    2nd Floor Zaragoza Building, 102 Gamboa Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City PH

  • PLDT Home extends Free Speedboost until May 31

    PLDT Home extends Free Speedboost until May 31

    In line with its efforts to keep families safe and connected at home during the enhanced community quarantine, leading telecoms and digital services provider PLDT Inc. announced last May 6, 2020 of the extension of its free Speedboost for PLDT Home Fibr customers and free NDD calls for all postpaid subscribers until May 31, 2020.

    Moreover, this extension of free Speedboost and free NDD calls covers not only Fibr customers in the highly affected areas of Luzon but has also been expanded to benefit Fibr customers in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

    The free Speedboost provides Fibr customers a minimum speed of 25 Mbps, which is beneficial for homes that have multiple Internet users and thus require high bandwidth to simultaneously access different web and streaming sites.

    The free NDD calls enables families to use their landlines to call relatives and friends in different parts of the country.

    “We are one with every Filipino family as we strive to rise above these trying times. As we face the uncertainties of the global health crisis, we are keeping our commitment to provide the strongest connections and reliable digital solutions that our customers need to work, study, and take care of their loved ones at home,” said Al Panlilio, PLDT Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer

    Free Access to Content

    PLDT Home Wifi and PLDT Home Volume-based plan subscribers will also continue to have FREE access to verified government and news websites such as the Department of Health (DOH), National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), Philippine Information Agency (PIA), News 5, Philippine Star Global, Business World, CNN Philippines, ABS-CBN News, and GMA News Online.

    iFlixVIP access for subscribers of PLDT Home Fibr Plan 1899 and up has also been extended until May 31, 2020. This will allow families to enjoy thousands of TV shows, movies, and everything on iflix for their bonding activities while staying at home.

    Financial Support through Installment Payment Program

    PLDT Home has also stepped up its efforts to help ease the financial burden of many families by implementing its extension payment program and suspending account disconnections during the enhanced community quarantine period. PLDT Home postpaid customers will automatically be enrolled to a 6-month installment payment scheme for all their bill balances as of April 30, 2020. This will allow them to conveniently settle their bills for six (6) months from May to October 2020. 

    Starting May 1, PLDT Home subscribers will receive an updated statement of account which will reflect the installment amount and the monthly service due for the corresponding billing month. PLDT Home subscribers can also enjoy 20% or up to Php100 cashback if they settle their March to May bills in full and on time using the PayMaya app.

    To conveniently track their bills and payments, PLDT Home subscribers can check their accounts through the MyPLDT-Smart App.

    “We may be socially distant, but we are united and strongly connected as one nation and community.

    PLDT Home will steadfastly work hard to keep families safe and connected as they stay at home,” said Panlilio.

    For more information about PLDT Home’s COVID-19 response, please visit http://www.pldthome.com

    REFERENCE:

    JEAN RICELLE A. AQUINO

    Sr. Media Relations Officer

    StratWorks, Inc.

    0927 027 8975