BDO Foundation completes relief ops in Odette-hit areas

2022 February – Despite the limited mobility caused by the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, BDO Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank, has completed relief operations in nine provinces hit hardest by Typhoon Odette, one of the most destructive storms to make landfall in the Philippines in recent years.

The foundation, in line with its disaster response advocacy, successfully delivered relief packs containing rice, noodles, canned goods and drinking water to 34,000 families in Bohol, Cebu, Dinagat Islands, Guimaras, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Palawan, Southern Leyte, and Surigao del Norte. 

Implemented in December and January, the corporate citizenship initiative was made possible by volunteers from diocesan social action centers, local government units and the military as well as employees of BDO and BDO Network Bank branches in the aforementioned provinces. BDO officers and staff, many of whom were also affected by Odette, helped BDO Foundation assess situations in affected areas, coordinate logistics and reach beneficiaries.

According to a beneficiary in Cebu, “Typhoon Odette was like a nightmare for us who live in coastal areas. Although we lost a lot including our homes, we are thankful that we are safe. We are also grateful that, despite the pandemic, BDO Foundation is helping us cope with this disaster. Thank you for serving as instruments of God’s kindness.”

A beneficiary in Guimaras echoed these sentiments, saying, “Madamo gid nga salamat! Thank you for sharing your blessings with the community and helping people through the parishes.”

The relief operations were the latest mounted by the foundation. Prior to Odette, it provided food assistance for families in provinces hit by Typhoons Bising, Fabian, and Maring; the Taal Volcano eruptions; and a fire incident in Occidental Mindoro. More than 54,000 underserved families benefited from BDO Foundation’s disaster response initiatives in 2021.

The 15th to enter the Philippine area of responsibility last year, Typhoon Odette battered provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao, bringing heavy rainfall and triggering flash floods and landslides. Odette’s onslaught prompted the national government to place six regions—Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Caraga—under a state of calamity.

Reaching out. In response to Typhoon Odette, BDO Foundation conducted relief operations for the benefit of 34,000 disaster-affected families in nine provinces.