The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, through its humanitarian arm, Latter-day Saint Charities (LDSC), has been one with the government in the efforts to assist the Filipinos during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
When President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire Luzon under enhanced community quarantine on 15 March, Olongapo City and the Town of Subic were among those affected. Although there were no known cases at the time, these two localities experienced a low supply and a high demand for protective equipment for frontliners.
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On 11 May 2020, Elder Jairus Perez, LDSC Country Director, accompanied by Olongapo Stake President Ricardo Asur and Latter-day Saint member Monette Danoog, turned over several boxes of personal protective equipment (PPE), bottles of alcohol, face shields, surgical and washable face masks, and rubber gloves to two local government units, the City of Olongapo and the Municipality of Subic.
At that time, Olongapo already had 11 confirmed cases, eight of whom had already recovered and 39 awaiting test results. Subic had two confirmed cases with 30 awaiting results. Both areas were considered low risk and declared under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) beginning on 16 May. However, Subic which is part of Zambales was soon placed on modified enhanced community quarantine status as requested and approved.
Olongapo City Mayor Rolen "Lenj" Paulino, Jr. expressed his gratitude for the ties the city and the Church have and for the continuing support the city has received. He gladly helped unload and check the packages.
Mayor Jonathan John Khonghun of Subic Municipality also conveyed his appreciation for the donations received. The Subic Municipality health officers had good words to share about the Church and its service projects.
Gerardo Angel, City MIS-OIC and a former district president of the Church, also assisted in coordinating with both LGUs.
According to President Asur, it was a truly amazing experience as he witnessed how everyone worked together for a common cause. "Truly, no man is an island,” he said.
Global COVID-19 Relief Efforts
The Church, through LDSC, has been active in providing COVID-19-related relief efforts globally. In the Philippines, the first wave of donations, which consisted of 5,000 N95 masks and 49,200 surgical masks, were turned over to the Department of Health for distribution. The second set of donations included more surgical masks, bottles of alcohol and PPEs.
Moreover, the Church resumed the operations of several Beehive Clothing plants located in various countries to supplement the demand for PPEs and face masks for medical and healthcare workers. Beehive Clothing Philippines reopened in the last week of April to manufacture the needed face masks for frontliners. They will be distributed to various government agencies.