Multi-sectoral partnerships forged amid the pandemic have provided the needed assistance to frontliners tending to COVID-19 patients.

With the values of service and malasakit in mind, PLDT-Smart Foundation has turned over cash assistance to Cebu medical frontliners via Project Balik Buhay’s (PBB) SalBaBida Program.

Project Balik Buhay (PBB), spearheaded by leaders from the public and private sectors, seeks to assist COVID-19 frontliners and safely reopen the economy with minimum health protocols in place.

The two-month SalBaBida Program was initially launched in support for nurses, whether full-time or project-based, who are attending to COVID-19 patients in participating private hospitals in Cebu.

“We understand the need for putting the welfare and safety of our frontliners first. We are happy to be part of Project Balik Buhay as the project aims to sustain our doctors and nurses in Cebu as they continue to serve amidst the surge in COVID-19 cases. This follows our Chairman MVP’s lead, who has always made sure that the frontliners are supported in any form possible. Our medical frontliners have truly been our heroes during this time, and we aim to assist them in our own small way,” says Esther Santos, PLDT-Smart Foundation President.

“On behalf of the entire Project Balik Buhay team, we’d like to express our sincerest and deepest gratitude to our donors. This initiative, no matter how simple, is a clear expression of our gratitude to our medical frontliners who have so tirelessly and selflessly continued to sacrifice their efforts into caring for and treating every patient,” says PBB Chairman Edmun Liu.

Recipients of the cash assistance include nurses working in the following private hospitals: Chong Hua Hospital (Fuente and Mandaue branches), Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital Group, Perpetual Succour Hospital, University of Cebu Medical Center, ARC Hospital, Cebu Velez General Hospital, Adventist Hospital Cebu, Southwestern University Medical Center, St. Vincent General Hospital, The Hospital by Maayo Well, and Visayas Community Medical Center.

The formal turnover was joined by PBB Chairman and Co-Chairman Edmun Liu and Kenneth Cobonpue, Office of the Presential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) Secretary Michael Dino, Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases-Region 7 Chief Implementer Ret. Gen Mel Feliciano, and Department of Health-7 Asst. Regional Director Dr. Guy Perez.

PSF also recently turned over Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) sets such as hospital-grade gowns and surgical masks, and boxes of vitamins to Cebu City LGU’s Emergency and Vaccination Operations Centers to assist them in their day-to-day operations.