MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Filipino spirit of giving remains in full force for the victims of Typhoon Odette as GCash, the Philippines’ leading mobile wallet, launched a donation drive to accelerate the fundraising for relief and recovery operations in areas devastated by the calamity.
The company is also extending loan payment holidays to borrowers affected by the typhoon as well as proactively increasing the wallet limits of eligible users in affected areas to allow more donations to come in.
“In times of crisis, it’s vital for us to come together and extend help to communities devastated by Typhoon Odette. Let us continue to strengthen our Filipino bayanihan spirit by providing help to typhoon victims and make them feel that they are not alone. Together with GCash, let us heighten our efforts to make a real difference in the lives of one another,” said GCash President and CEO, Martha Sazon.
The call for donations started last December 16, 2021 and GCash encouraged its users to give through the app through its #GCashGivesBack Pay Bill wallet and Quick Response Code (QR Code). The donations collected through these channels will be equally disbursed to partner NGOs of the company, delivering immediate relief assistance to affected VisMin areas. As of December 26, 2021, the campaign has raised over PHP18.6 million in cash donations.
GCash is still enjoining the public to keep donating any amount until January 31, 2022.
To send funds for the typhoon victims, GCash users can click “Pay Bills” on the GCash app, tap “Others”, click the “#GCashGivesBack and type your information and click “Confirm.”
Or, GCash users can also donate any amount by scanning the QR Code on the GCash app. Donations will be sent to GCash’s partner Non-Government Organizations (NGO) conducting relief operations in VisMin including United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Philippine Red Cross, ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, Ayala Foundation, GMA Kapuso Foundation, Save the Children, Jollibee Group Foundation, McDonalds Kindness Kitchen, World Vision Inc., World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Ramon Aboitiz Foundation and Caritas Manila.
To further boost the recovery efforts, GCash is also proactively upgrading the e-wallet limit of eligible users in areas affected by Odette, particularly, the six regions that are now under the government-declared State of Calamity, to enable them to accept more donations.
The eligible users have been receiving the upgrades since December 24 and will have a full rollout by December 31.
GLoan borrowers in typhoon-affected areas will also see more reprieve as GCash also announced a payment holiday for due dates from December 16, 2021 to January 15, 2022.
They will be given a sixty-day grace period for them to pay off their due loans in the mentioned period.
“All these efforts form part of GCash’s One With the Nation umbrella Corporate Social Responsibility program which highlights the important role of private and public sector cooperation in helping fast-track economic recovery amid the pandemic as well as provide aid to areas that have been affected by natural calamities like Typhoon Odette,” said Chito Maniago, Vice President for Corporate Communications and Public Affairs of GCash.
Filipinos can download the GCash app for free on the Google Play or App Store.
