‘Travelling sa ere’ si Mayor

Mahilig siyang mag-travelling ngunit hindi naman napipituhan ng mga reperi. Siya ang manlalarong ginagawang libangan ang travelling na malaking bawal sa basketbol. Ngunit dahil sa ere gumagawa ng travelling ay tuloy ang saya ng mga miron at ng kanyang koponan sa loob ng 16 makukulay na taon sa PBA.

Matapos mabigo sa kanyang unang pagsabak sa pulitika ay matagumpay ang kanyang ikalawang pagtatangka dahil na rin sa kanyang paghahangad na makatulong sa kanyang mga kababayan.

Dala na rin niya ang hindi pagsuko sa mga hamon ng buhay sapagkat pinanday siya ng kanyang karanasan sa propesyonal na liga,

Hindi lang siya Aerial Voyager kundi pinakamamahal na Punong Bayan aka Mayor Vergel Meneses ng Bulakan, Bulacan.

Dahil sa problemang dala ng Covid-19, nasubukan ang liderato ni Meneses at sa aking mga pagtatanong ay hindi niya binibigo ang kanyang mga kababayan. Sa tulong na rin ng kanyang mga kaibigan mula sa pribadong sektor at sa pamahalaan ay tuloy tuloy ang ayuda na ibinibigay ng kanyang administrasyon sa panahon ng krisis.

Matapos ang makulay na karera bilang pangunahing Heavy Bomber ng Jose Rizal College (ngayoý University) ay kinuha siya bilang numero unong overall draft pick ng Presto Ice Cream noong 1992.

Nakasama ni Meneses sa Presto (Great Taste Coffee) noon sina Triggerman Allan Caidic, Chairman of the Board Abe King, Manny Victorino at Arnie Tuadles.

Nagpalipat-lipat si Meneses sa mga koponan ng Sta. Lucia, Swift/Sunkist/Pop Cola, Barangay Ginebra, FedEx Express, Red Bull and lastly Talk ‘N Text bago mag-retiro noong 2006.
Naging head coach din siya ng JRU.

Mahaba ang listahan ng mga personalidad at grupong nais pasalamatan ni Mayor Meneses na naging dahilan ng mahusay na pagharap ng kanyang administrasyon laban sa salot habang dala ang battlecry na “Bagong Bulakan, Sama Sama.’’

Hindi na ako nagulat dito sapagkat tulad ng basketbol ay napakalahaga ng teamwork upang makamit ang ninanais na resulta,

Tila walang katapusan ang nais pasalamatan ni Mayor.

Binanggit niya sina Bulacan Governor Daniel R. Fernando, Vice Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado, Cong. Jonathan Sy-Alvarado at Board Member Jong Ople.

“In Bulacan, we fight as one and we will win as one (against Covid-19),” diin ni Meneses na regular ang pagbibigay ayuda sa 14 barangay ng bayan at sa mga seniors citizen, PUJ at tricycle drivers.

Hindi rin nakalimutan ni Mayor ang pinuno ng San Miguel Corporation na si Ramon Ang, sports director Alfrancis Chua at Karen Ramos, ang mga dati niyang bossing sa RFM na sina Joey Concepcion at Elmer Yanga, at PLDT sa tulong ng mamamahayag na si Ambet Nabus.

Hindi rin puwedeng hindi banggitin ni Mayor ang suporta na nagmula kina Senators Bato Dela Rosa, Bong Go, Grace Poe, Bong Revilla at Manny Pacquiao at Congressmen Joey Salceda at Mike Defensor.

Malaki rin ang naiambag ni Mario Valderama ng Marby Food Ventures Corporation, Caroline Salamat ng Caroline’s Bakeshop at Lugaw Republic ni Benjo M. Cruz Jr.

Mahalaga ang pakikipagtulungan ni Meneses sa Municipal Health Office na pinangungunahan ni Dra. Ma Elisa Villanueva, Bulakan Chief of Police P/Col. Moner Orang kasama ang buong city council upang talunin ang salot. Ayon kay Mayor, nandiyan din ang National Grip Corporation of the Philippines, DSWD, PCSO at DPWH upang tumulong tulad ng DepEd, Rotary Club, Brgy

Health Emergency Response, Kababaihan Sama Sama sa Bagong Bulakan,AA Alumni Basketball League, Sunday Basketball Club, Thursday Club, MVM Cares at Bulakan Superfriends.

Bilang pagkilala sa kanyang liderato ay napili rin siya ng kilalang PBA Press Corps bilang Presidential Awardee sa kanilang taunang PBA Press Corps Awards na naantala dahil sa pesteng coronavirus.

Security Bank helps in battling Covid-19.

As a continued response to the threats of COVID-19, Security Bank has donated Personal Protective Equipment to 10 public hospitals nationwide to help TOWNS Foundation in protecting frontliners.

“The UP Medical Foundation and TOWNS Foundation believe that to be human is to actively reach out and help. Our partnership with Security Bank would surely help in attaining our common goal, the goal of having our healthcare workers equipped for battle against COVID-19,” said President of UP Medical Foundation, Dr. Paulo Pagkatipunan M.D.
Personal Protective Equipment are used to protect our medical frontliners from the bodily fluids of COVID-19 patients and to avoid cross-infection. Due to increased global demand, PPEs have become scarce and hard to procure.

“Our medical professionals and healthcare workers carry the heaviest burden in this fight against the pandemic. Needless to say, we cannot engage them to war with this unseen enemy without adequate ammunition and protection,” says Olivia Ferry, TOWNS Foundation president.

Since the start of the enhanced community quarantine, Security Bank has helped Filipinos get better through its medical aid programs. Security Bank helps St. Luke’s Medical Center boost the immunity of indigent patients through Convalescent Plasma Treatment. The Bank supports the Philippine National Red Cross in transporting, testing, and treating COVID-19 patients through its ambulance and molecular laboratory (in Cebu) donations. SBC also assists Manila HealthTek with the production and distribution of test kits through its Treasury Group’s Deals for Donation program.

San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has put in place stringent protocols to ensure a safe workplace environment for office-bound employees physically reporting for work starting this week, following Metro Manila’s transition to general community quarantine.

SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang yesterday said that PCR-testing for the company’s employees is now in full swing nationwide, and added that health protocols have already been established and implemented in all facilities for the employees’ peace of mind and to help prevent Covid-19 transmission.

While majority of SMC’s office-bound employees are still working from home, Ang said that there are those who need to be present at the offices due to the nature of their jobs.

“Only 20 percent of our employees are required to report to the office under the existing skeletal work arrangement. And to ensure that these employees will work in a clean and sanitized environment, we will aggressively implement these protocols for their safety and the safety of their families,” Ang said.

Ang added that only employees who have been tested and were found to be negative for Covid-19 will be allowed entry to the office premises. These employees have been given a Covid-19 negative badge that also serves as their access pass.

“The testing is being done in batches so as to reduce unnecessary crowding in the testing areas. And those who were given a clean bill of health will be regularly checked for indicative symptoms, so they can be isolated if needed and early intervention can be made,” said Ang.

He also assured employees that their health insurance cards, as well as those of their family members’, are more than enough to cover various illnesses, including Covid-19.

“Our employees’ health is of paramount importance to the company. While the establishment of these health protocols and the pandemic overall, has affected some aspects of our work life, we remain a closely-knit organization, and we follow all the rules and implement all necessary measures until a vaccine is found,” he added.

At the SMC headquarters, every returning employee is also provided a face mask, face shield, and ethyl alcohol. Handwashing facilities complete with soap and water, thermal scanners, foot bath, and a disinfection chamber that checks temperature and automatically dispenses sanitizer, have also been installed in various areas.

Other health protocols include: wearing of office and Covid-19 negative ID at all times, wearing of mask and face shields, frequent hand-washing with soap and water, use of handkerchief or tissue to cover mouth and nose when sneezing, observance of physical distancing, and avoidance of congregation in groups.

Employees have also been advised to bring their own food and beverages, including cutlery and tableware, as the office cafeteria and food kiosks will remain closed.

“We are asking for the cooperation and understanding of everyone and I am sure that the employees will appreciate all these efforts for their safety. Keeping San Miguel a safe and healthy workplace will allow us to conduct business continuously and efficiently, as we all do our part to help jumpstart the economy,” Ang said.

Before the shift to general community quarantine, SMC was already building its own Covid-19 testing facility and laboratory to test 70,000 employees and workers in its network, to help reduce the strain on the health facilities tasked to conduct and process Covid tests.

Testing has commenced at food manufacturing facilities to ensure that these will be running smoothly and further stabilize the country’s food supply in the coming months.

SMC has prioritized the testing of 8,000 manufacturing, operations, and other frontline staff. Testing at its Visayas and Davao facilities are also set to start.

To contribute to the government’s expanded testing initiative, SMC has donated swab booths as well as PCR testing kits equivalent to 34,000 tests to 17 Metro Manila LGUs.

It also provided three sets of Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing machines and RNA machines to key government hospitals aside from the five sets of the same machines donated to the Department of Health, which also received testing kits equivalent to 20,000 tests.