ONE thousand indigent families from Davao City benefited from the 2017 Bag of Blessings (BOB) project initiated by the Metrobank Group and GT Capital Holdings, Inc, through the GT-Metro Foundation (GTMF) and Metrobank Foundation, Inc. (MBFI) on Saturday.
Metrobank, the proponent of the activity, aimed to provide a platform for the company to give back to the community as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ushering the Chinese New Year through upholding the spirit of giving.
This is also part of their annual nationwide gift-giving project, which started in 2011 and targets to help 10,000 identified marginalized families all over the country each year through distributing P10 million worth of food packages.
Each family received P1,000 worth of goods including rice, canned goods, milk, coffee, sugar, noodles and a snack pack for children.
The recipients were thankful to the employees of Metrobank for selecting them as beneficiaries of the project.
According to Rey C. Urbiztondo, Metrobank first Vice President Region Head-Mindanao, in Chinese culture, a monetary gift called "angpao" or red packet is given during the New Year but instead of handing out cash they opted to give food packs instead.
"The bag of blessing is a Chinese New Year gift to the citizens from the GT foundation through Metrobank," Urbiztondo said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) chief of Policy and Plans Division Estrella D. Brigole also said that they have pre-identified the beneficiaries of the program coming from the underprivileged families in barangays Agdao and Panacan listed in the DSWD's Listahanan but are not beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
The event was also held in partnership with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) who rendered manpower assistance for the success of the event.