Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has airlifted nearly a hundred tons of high-value relief goods — ranging from export — quality bananas to specially fortified ready-to-ear food — donated by private groups for victims of the recent calamity in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
In less than two weeks, the PAL Foundation coordinated the immediate airlift of relief goods coming from various domestic and international donor-organizations who availed of the PAL Humanitarian Cargo Grant.
The initial cargo of relief consisted of two tons of bananas from Davao City, sent by Cagayan de Oro EcoWarriors and different Davao Rotary Clubs; 30 metric tons of ready-to-eat therapeutic food specially formulated for malnourished children coming from a local office of the United Nation’s World Food Programme in Cotabato City; and 500 kilos of beddings, flashlights, diapers, new underwear, powdered milk, medicines from a Filipino community in Hong Kong.
The most recent came from ImpactLives of San Francisco, where 20 tons of ready-to-eat meals were consigned to the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches in Manila.
The first batch of fortified food, known as Plumpy’Doz, was distributed by Social Welfare Department through their National Resource Operations Center.
PAL’s disaster response initiative was activated even while vast portions of Metro Manila and nearby provinces were inundated by massive flooding. Soon after, PAL’s outstations started accepting relief goods for free airlift — on space available basis — on board Manila-bound flights.
As in previous PAL airlift of relief goods, donor-groups communicated with the PAL Foundation, through its executive director, Menchu Sarmiento, in order to avail of the Humanitarian Cargo Grant.
Interested groups may contact the PAL Foundation through: email-menchu_sarmiento@pal.com.ph; or call 851-2980, 852-6096 or 855-8000 local 2143 or 2563.