As the fight against COVID-19 persists in the country, so is the need for a continuous supply of personal protective equipment (PPEs) for the healthcare workers risking their lives in the frontline.

ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN Foundation remain on a mission to help fulfill this need, and has found a new partner in finding and providing the much-needed support that our medical frontliners need during this pandemic.

The network and the foundation have joined forces with WeCARE (We Connect, Act and Respond to Emergencies), a free-to-use community-based emergency response platform that connects individuals or groups willing to support communities requiring assistance during a crisis.

Developed by Cortex Technologies Inc. (Cortex), a subsidiary of Concepcion Industrial Corporation (CIC), WeCARE will work with ABS-CBN and the ABS-CBN Foundation to provide a quicker and more efficient response to hospitals and other COVID-19 support facilities in need of PPEs. These institutions only need to register on www.wecare.ph and declare the assistance they need. 

This effort is part of ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN Foundation’s “Pantawid ng Pag-ibig” umbrella campaign to help Filipinos during this COVID-19 crisis.  The multi-sectoral initiative, which is entering its second phase, has already helped an estimated 780,000 families by delivering food items and basic necessities to local government units for distribution to families affected by the community quarantine. It has also delivered 172,000 surgical masks, 56,374 N95 masks, 2,000 cloth masks, 31,500 gloves, 19,600 hygiene kits, 15,277 goggles, 3,500 face shields, 2,400 alchohol, 1,000 body suits, 1,000 head caps, 1,000 shoe covers, as well as food, drinks, and flowers to 84 hospitals and two frontline organizations as of May 27.

Currently, there are around 150 hospitals from all over the country registered on www.wecare.ph in need of around 519,000 items of medical supplies and gears. Through the cash and in-kind donations of donors and partners from all over the world, ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN Foundation hope to contribute in purchasing and delivering the needed PPEs for the institutions in WeCARE. 

ABS-CBN Integrated Public Service head Jun Dungo explained the importance of PPEs in this global health crisis. “The COVID-19 virus is a very vicious virus. It is highly contagious and transmissible between humans. Our frontliners, especially our healthcare workers are highly vulnerable to contract the virus and also to transmit it. We need to protect them and the patients they are taking care of,” he said.

ABS-CBN Foundation managing director Susan Afan added, “While our frontliners are out there caring for our sick, the PPEs should really be least of their concerns. It is important that we come together to help them during this public health emergency.”

“In emergency situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to understand the real situation and the specific requirements of those in need. With WeCARE, we can extend the appropriate help to the right people, to where and when it’s needed,” said CIC Chairman & CEO Raul Joseph Concepcion.

Together with WeCARE, ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN Foundation aim to boost their PPE drive further, especially as many parts of the nation remain under community quarantine with new COVID-19 cases still being recorded every day. According to the Department of Health (DOH), there are already 15,049 cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines as of May 27, 16 percent (2,452) of which are healthcare workers. So far, 1,228 of them have already recovered, while 31 have died.

To know more about WeCARE, visit www.wecare.ph. To help, you may donate via ABS-CBN LingkodKapamilya Foundation Inc. bank accounts: BPI Account Number: 4221-0000-27 with Swift Code: BOPIPHMM, and BDO Account Number: 0039300-78214 with Swift Code: BNORPHMM.