Covid-19 response

Para Sa Bayani

(For our Heroes) is a consolidation of PSFI’s various efforts for today’s brave heroes from our frontliners who continue to work hard in healing the sick, to the Filipino citizenry who, staying at home is helping flatten the curve.

While the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected many Filipinos, it has also brought people and organizations to work together.
At the onset of the community quarantine, Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (PSFI) together with its partners, started Para sa Bayani, a campaign that consolidates efforts to help in various fronts— from grassroots and fenceline communities, to local businesses, to health frontliners. Para sa Bayani has three embedded sub-components: Ani Para sa Bayani, Proteksyon Para sa Bayani and Tulong Para sa Bayani.

This is a report of what we have accomplished together

Ani Para Sa Bayani

Providing healthy and nutritious food to frontliners and food insecure communities while supporting the livelihood of farmers and fisherfolk

PSFI launched the Ani Para sa Bayani program as part of its effort in helping the country fight off the onslaught of the coronavirus. The objective of the program is to enable local farmers and fishers from eight different provinces sell their produce during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) period and provide frontline health workers and vulnerable communities in the in the National Capital Region (NCR), Batangas, Palawan, Cebu, Misamis Oriental, and Davao del Sur with nutritious meals needed to protect themselves from the virus by staying healthy.

PSFI avidly promotes safe, sustainable, and environmentally sound agricultural systems that would strengthen the food security of the country. Its support started even before the pandemic began, and has continued during this difficult time. The Ani Para Sa Bayani program is the perfect conduit for PSFI to procure essential fresh produce from

farmers from the specified provinces and distribute these to other organizations that support frontliners and vulnerable communities through prepared meals and food packages.

Keeping an ear close to the ground, the PSFI staff has received positive feedback from project partners. Clarisse Atienza, coordinator of the Vegetable Caravan by Cordillera Farmers and a project partner, remarked, “Malaking tulong na po yung nabibili niyo. Makakasigurado na po tayo na may next cycle ng pananim ang farmers na hindi nila kailangan utangin.” Instead of letting the fresh produce go to waste because of transport concerns during the ECQ, the program provided a viable option to make it a win-win situation for everyone, from farmers to frontliners. Another project partner, Frontline Feeders Philippines, posted an appreciation message on their social media page: “This is a story of hope, teamwork and love – from farm to the tables of our frontliners. Again, we thank Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. for your enormous support. Thank you also to one of our kitchen partners 121 Restaurant for preparing these warm bowls of carrot soup and sautéed veggies for our frontliners in East Ave Medical Center! Truly, the spirit of Bayanihan lives on through our modern heroes.”

Ani Para sa Bayani display all harvested vegetables

ani para sa bayani frontliners recieved free meals

ani para sa bayani harvesting vegetables

ani para sa bayani vegetables quality checking

This program shows the perfect symbiotic relationship between grassroots communities and health professionals that is made possible by the strong support from the private sector. It also leveraged Shell’s network in delivering the fresh produce from and to our project partners, from farming communities and cooperatives to frontliners in hospitals and vulnerable communities hit hardest by the pandemic. Indeed, it is a proud moment to see the collaborative effort within the company, as Shell retail stations from all over the country come together to raise funds, to mobilize human and transport resources, and to organize gathering and distribution of essential produce and goods among the project partners. Such is the manifestation of the spirit of the Filipino bayani.

Proteksyon Para Sa Bayani

Providing frontliners with the appropriate protective equipment while supporting the livelihood of daily wage workers.

As health workers and medical practitioners bravely act as shields to protect the country from the COVID-19 pandemic, PSFI launched the Proteksyon Para sa Bayani program to provide medical frontliners with quality PPEs by sourcing materials and equipment from qualified suppliers and donors. Through this program, PSFI also aims to assist wage workers and optimize their productivity as their daily income has been affected since the ECQ started.

PSFI has partnered with Batangas State University – LIKHA FabLab to produce face shields and retainers for respiratorsfor the use of hospital staff and frontline offices in Batangas province. It donated 3D printers to increase production of the needed PPEs and these printers could also be used by students as learning equipment when classes eventually resume. LIKHA FabLab Center Head Engr Louie Villaverde said, “Maraming salamat po talaga sa donation n’yo na printers. Mas mabilis po makakapagbigay sa mga hospitals and frontliners dahil mas madami na po ang nagpiprint kahit limited lang ang workforce. In the near future po, malaking tulong din po ito sa mga students ng Batangas State University.”

Proteksyon para sa bayani a man wearing a ppe suits

In addition to face shields, PSFI also teamed up SIBBAP Garments Production Center based in Batangas to produce quality PPE suits for the medical frontliners of Batangas and facemasks for the frontliners and workforce of Shell Tabangao. By doing so, PSFI provided a livelihood source to SIBBAP members and sewers. One of the SIBBAP sewers, Leonisa Papa, shared that it is an honor for her to be part of the sewers’ group because she was able to make PPEs and at the same time help her family with income from the work. In May, a batch of 50 PPE suits was turned over to Batangas Medical Center (BatMC) in Batangas City. Helen Villena, supervising administrative officer of BatMC, said, “Maraming salamat po sa PSFI sa tulong na inyong ipinaabot sa amin na aming mapapakinabangan.”

As for the facemasks, more than 2,000 pieces were turned over to Shell Tabangao. Michelle Benjamin, CP Focal, PSPC Tabangao, remarked, “Our GM, Jan Peter Groot Wassink, requested to order facemasks to be given to refinery contractors and workers in line with the government’s policy on wearing facemasks. Since we have been partnering with SIBBAP for sewn products, it’s great to connect this order with available resources in the community.” On the other hand, Alona Casao, one of the SIBBAP sewers who worked from home, said, “Nagpapasalamat pa rin po ako at ako ay nakapanahi ng facemask kahit nasa bahay. Kahit papaano ay nadagdadg din po sa aming pang gastos sa araw-araw.”

PSFI also partnered with the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA)-Palawan Chapter, through a joint program called “Tabang Palawan”, to donate personal protective equipment (PPE) among the province’s medical frontliners. Initially, 20 bodysuits, 60 pieces of N95 masks, 30 pieces of face shields, and 100 pairs of gloves were donated to the Ospital ng Palawan (ONP) to replenish its reserves in April at the height of the pandemic. John Pontillas, UPAA-Palawan Chapter president, said in an interview with Palawan News Online, “Eventually, na-identify kung ano ‘yong mga priority support. Ang isang priority support ay PPE support to frontliners…the other one is logistics, kasi ang tanong paano mo imo-move like meron ka sa Manila, donations, doon nag-umpisa yong ‘Tabang Palawan’.” To date, over 6,000 PPE sets were distributed in partnership with UPAA-Palawan Chapter.

proteksyon para sa bayan two womens making ppe suits

Tulong Para Sa Bayani

Providing and transporting basic necessities to shell fence line communities in need.

To further extend help and reach non-health workers, PSFI organized a third program, Tulong Para sa mga Bayani, to provide grocery items to indigent and daily wage workers, to sponsor fuel needs, and to transport essential goods.

One of the first pandemic relief operations was held in March in Pasacao, Camarines Sur. This is in response to the request of the Pasacao LGU to provide assistance for the indigent families of the community. Basic food items—such as rice, sardines, canned meat, coffee, noodles, and biscuits—were delivered and distributed among 1,000 families initially. During the activity, safety protocols were strictly observed like social distancing and wearing face masks.

In April, the relief operations moved further south in Cagayan De Oro City. More operations soon followed in different parts of the country, held in communities within Leyte, Misamis Oriental, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Lanao de Norte, Palawan, Batangas, Oriental Mindoro and Masbate, where over 11,000 relief packs were distributed.

PSFI also donated perishable food, such as vegetables and dressed chicken to the Municipality of Taysan, Batangas, and Batangas Medical Center (BatMC) in Batangas City. Municipal Mayor Grande Gutierrez reached out to the PSFI staff and shared, “Maraming salamat sa inyo at naalala ninyo ang Taysan kahit walang case (ng COVID-19) dito. Pinananatili namin ang kaligtasan ng aming lugar pero madami naman ang nagugutom dahil hindi naman makapagtrabaho. Salamat sa inyo!” In behalf of the BatMC Employees Multipurpose Cooperative, Chairperson Monina Mendez said, “Salamat po, lagi kaming may gulay. Sa ngayon po ay hindi lamang frontliners ang nakakakain dahil dito, pati na rin po mga bantay.”

Another vital lifeline the PSFI extended during the ECQ were the chartered flights between Manila and Puerto Princesa City in Palawan. The Palawan Provincial Health Office and the Provincial Department of Health Office (PDOHO) requested the assistance of PSFI to help transport swab samples for COVID-19 testing to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Metro Manila via flights from Malampaya. These humanitarian flights carried other essential items from Manila to Palawan, such as PPEs and face masks for health frontliners, medicines, and test kits for other respiratory diseases. All in all, PSFI-assisted chartered Malampaya flights transported 1.4 tons of essential goods, which also included agricultural produce from Palawan farmers to be distributed to frontliners in Metro Manila.

Tulong para sa bayani group of womens repacking relief goods

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