‘Pantawid ng Pag-ibig’ continues to help Filipinos in needABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) recently launched the newest edition of its “Pantawid ng Pag-ibig” campaign.

In its launch phase, “Pantawid ng Pag-ibig: Pilipino Para sa Pilipino” is focused on providing immediate relief through distribution of food packs and hot meals to families most in need.

Every P100 donation made through AFI bank and online payment partners GCash and PayMaya, or through voucher redemption in Lazada and Grab, can feed one family for a day. Four hundred pesos can help feed a family of five for a week.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has gone on for a year now, and it doesn’t yet show signs of slowing down. The longer we are not able to go out to work or to school, the greater the chance that more businesses will shut down, adding to the growing number of people unemployed,” said Berta Lopez-Feliciano, AFI managing director. “Therefore, there will be more people in need of food and basic necessities, and we will commit our best efforts to reach out to these affected families, so your donations can support as many people as we can.”

She added: “The latest run of the ‘Pantawid ng Pag-ibig’ campaign is called ‘Pilipino Para sa Pilipino’ because this is very much an invitation to all of us as one community to show compassion to our fellows. We want to empower everyone to each give what we can, and then rally our families, friends, colleagues and business partners to also make their own donations because we are all in this together.”

Since “Pantawid ng Pag-ibig” was first launched on March 19, 2020, over P500 million in cash and in-kind donations from corporate and individual donors have supported more than 920,000 families from the National Capital Region (NCR) and selected provinces nationwide.

Cash donations were used to purchase food and basic necessities such as rice, canned goods, noodles, biscuits, milk, coffee, shampoo, soap, detergent and vitamins. The campaign included distribution of hot meals to families in need and to front liners in hospitals and partner cities. Under the campaign, AFI was also able to provide personal protective equipment to hospitals and to front liner organizations in NCR and various provinces.

“On behalf of our beneficiaries, I thank all our donors, partners and everyone who has supported ‘Pantawid ng Pag-ibig’ all this time,” Lopez-Feliciano said. “With your continued support, we hope to reach even more Filipino families as we go into ‘Pantawid ng Pag-ibig: Pilipino Para sa Pilipino.’”

AFI also accepts donations via online banking channels of its partner banks. More ways to donate will be released in the coming weeks.

Alongside these fundraising efforts, AFI is actively working with corporate donors to boost the campaign. For more information, visit www.pantawidngpagibig.com.