Working from home as a result of the enhanced community quarantine didn’t stop Ayala Land employees from combining their resources to help the country in this time of need. In an effort to provide much needed hospital supplies to COVID 19 referral hospitals, as well as groceries to families affected by the lockdown, they launched the ALI Pays it Forward campaign to generate donations for The Philippine General Hospital, The Philippine Lung Center, Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, and Caritas Manila through Project Ugnayan.
“The COVID 19 hospitals needed sustained support to ensure the patients are properly cared for. They required PPEs, additional ECGs and mobile ultrasound units, and post-care facilities. And with the lockdown, we knew thousands of families will be adversely affected,” said Bobby O. Dy, Ayala Land President and CEO.
The fund-raising project Ayala Land Pays It Forward, was supported by the company’s subsidiaries, such as Ayala Land Estates Inc., residential groups Ayala Land Premier, Alveo, Avida, Amaia, and BellaVita, as well as AyalaLand International Sales Inc., Amicassa and AyalaLand Sales Inc.
Ayala Land Offices, Ayala Malls, AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts, AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp. and ALI Capital are also part of this initiative. Ayala Land’s service businesses Ayala Property Management Corporation, Makati Development Corporation, AirSwift and DirectPower likewise helped. Also providing support to this cause were Seda Hotels, Ten Knots Development Corporation, Cebu Holdings Inc. and Ortigas & Company. ALI’s support groups such as AyalaLand Corporate Support and Aprisa also participated in the project.
The campaign ended last Friday with an overall participation rate of 99%. Around 5,000 employees contributed to the project to express their appreciation for the selfless dedication exhibited by the country’s frontliners. In an email sent to employees inviting them to share their blessings, Dy said, “We are one with Filipinos and we will do our share to not leave anyone behind in this fight to contain the virus.”
Appreciating the organization’s support, ALI Chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala said, “It has always been a source of pride for us to see our employees across the ALI family coming together and mobilizing a significant amount of resources in such a quick manner, in order to help others at a challenging time like this.”
PPEs and hospital equipment procured with the employees’ donations were delivered to the COVID 19 referral hospitals last week as the company continuously pursues ways to help the government during this health crisis.
Through its construction arm, Makati Development Corporation, it has so far completed the retrofitting of an area inside the Philippine Red Cross headquarters to be used as a COVID 19 testing facility. In support of the Department of Public Works and Highways’ initiatives, it is likewise leading the renovation of the World Trade Center in Pasay to a 500-bed Quarantine Facility.
The Ayala Group companies Ayala announced that it is rolling out a P2.4 billion COVID 19 emergency response package.
Part of the response package is to waive rental payments amounting to P1.4 billion for all mall merchants in Luzon so that they can, in turn, assist their own employees during the quarantine period. It also includes a P600 million wage assistance program directed towards helping maintenance, security and construction workers under partner employers.
