PAFCPIC PARTNERS WITH PHILIPPINE ARMY TO HELP LOCALLY STRANDED INDIVIDUALS (LSIs)
Imagine having no choice but to set up temporary sleeping areas outdoors, far away from your home–risking exposure to coronavirus and not being able to be with your family during this pandemic period. Imagine having to go about your daily business while constantly at risk of getting sick, not because you want to violate orders, but because you can’t go home and you need to survive.
This has been the situation of some of our countrymen after the government decided to place the entire Luzon on lockdown in mid-March. Despite the threat of bad weather and the spreading coronavirus, these locally stranded individuals (LSIs)--students, parents and overseas Filipino workers—have stayed in makeshift living spaces under the expressway and in bus stations, airports and seaports while they await the resumption of public transportation bound for their respective hometowns.
FULFILLING OUR MISSION WITH THE COMMUNITY
Of the Principles of Cooperativism, the seventh is “concern for the community.” This principle in addition to values such as caring for others and social responsibility highlight the duty of cooperatives not just to its members but also to the larger community where they belong.
Then and now, PAFCPIC is committed to do its share in the betterment of the situation of various under-served and challenged sectors in society, particularly now that we are currently facing one of the world’s most dreadful outbreaks.
In partnership with the AFP, which has been a crucial contributor to the national government's approach in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, PAFCPIC provided a total of P50,000.00 thru OG3, HHSG in support of LSIs who have been stranded for almost 4 months.
DELIVERING RELIEF WHERE IT’S NEEDED MOST
Our partners on the ground led by Major Arvin A. Llenaresas, immediately visited and assessed the urgent humanitarian needs of the displaced persons, who were at that time, brought to the Philippine Army Headquarters.
A total of 1,000 packed meals and 1,000 bottle waters were distributed to LSIs who had been staying there without proper water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities, as well as with decreased access to food.
SUPPLYING THE FIGHT AGAINST THE PANDEMIC
Prior to this program, PAFCPIC had already been working with partners to deliver vital supplies to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The cooperative earlier collaborated with G1 Philippine Army and AFP Health Service Command, and delivered donations worth Php550,000.00 and Php200,000.00, respectively. Both would be used for the procurement of ventilators which would serve as crucial portable devices in ventilating patients during transportation and emergency situations
Apart from helping the Armed Forces of the Philippines, PAFCPIC also provided COVID-related assistance to other organizations. It provided medical supplies containing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Philippine General Hospital in support of its 2,987 front line health workers. While in coordination with CDA, the cooperative procured P50,000.00 worth of relief goods and brought them to Talakag, Bukidnon in aid of two affected Indigenous Peoples' Cooperatives: Igpanuyadog sa Abaga Ta Bayug Agriculture Coop and Kitanglad-Kalatungan Producers Coop.
FINDING HOPE AND SOLIDARITY AMID THE UNCERTAINTY
The disruptive nature of this outbreak requires us to be agile and flexible in moving forward and in how we respond. PAFCPIC believes that helping to alleviate difficulties in the lives of others through these projects is a way to send a message of hope that can overcome this pandemic and encourage people to keep moving forward. In these times of uncertainty, we are confident that if we continue to stick together as one national family, we will emerge from this challenge better positioned than ever to take cooperativism to new heights.
