Everyone is ‘fit’ to volunteer

‘Malasakit,’ ‘bayanihan’ alive in Meralco

10/18/2009

On a regular day, the Fitness Center at the Meralco compound is teeming with busy bodies involved in various sports and exercise moves. On the morning of Sept. 27, the Fitness Center is once again filled with busy bodies. But this time everyone is a volunteer – from executives, employees and their families, students and even customers – for Meralco’s “Dilaw Sa Bayan” (Dulot Liwanag at Sagip Bayan Program – Meralco Relief Program).

“It is very tragic that Typhoon Ondoy has affected a lot of our countrymen, which includes hundreds of employees of Meralco who are mostly based in Pasig, Cainta, and Marikina. But what is very inspiring is the fact that even if they were affected by the calamity, a lot of them went here at the Fitness Center when we decided to transform this venue as a relief operations center,” Manuel Lopez, Meralco chairman and CEO, said. “Some of the Meralco employees even braved the high waters just to spend time at the relief center. On the succeeding days, they are constantly volunteering their time even after office hours.”

As of Oct. 5, more than 650 persons have volunteered at least 6,000 hours packing 15,553 bags of relief goods and distributing bulk donations such as sacks of rice, boxes of bottled water, sardines and the like. These relief goods, which also included services (soup kitchens), were delivered by the Meralco trucks in 24 cities and municipalities. These include Valenzuela, Pasig, Cainta, Taytay, Montalban, Malabon, Marikina, and farther than the metro such as Laguna, Bulacan and Cavite.

“It is very heartening to receive donations from employees, business partners and customers as soon as they knew that Meralco has a relief operation. We didn’t even ask for it, but the donations – in kind, in their effort and time, in what little they have – keep coming. This truly illustrates that ‘malasakit’ and ‘bayanihan’ is alive in this day and age,” Lopez said.

For Aisa Lecciones, a staff from Corporate Planning of Meralco, she believes that this is the best time for Filipinos to unite and help one another. “In my own way, I’m volunteering my time and effort to make sure that our kababayans who were greatly affected can get immediate comfort,” she said.

Aware that a lot of Meralco’s service providers were also affected by the calamity, the utility company has also prepared 4,012 bags of relief goods to bring immediate aid to their families and loved ones.

Meralco offices also served as evacuation/temporary shelters as soon as Typhoon Ondoy wreaked havoc in the metropolis. At the height and aftermath of the typhoon, the MMLDC (Meralco Development Center) in Antipolo opened its doors to employees and families and even the public for emergency cases.

In the meantime, Meralco continues to accept donations. For more information, call the CSRO office at 632-8301 or 1622-2819 or visit: www.meralco.com.ph.

Photo shows Lopez (2nd from right) talking with employees of Meralco who volunteered for the relief operation.

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