BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Energy Development Corporation donated an RNA extractor to Negros Occidental to further strengthen the Covid-19 resiliency efforts of the province.
The equipment, worth P3 million, was turned over yesterday by EDC’s community partners Marie Christine Jamiana and Jayvi Valenzuela to Governor Eugenio Lacson in a ceremony held at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City.
“We are one with Negros Occidental in its fight against Covid-19,” Norreen Bautista, head of EDC’s Corporate Social Responsibility team in Negros island, said.
“Through its molecular laboratory at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital (TLJPH) where this vital RNA extractor will be used, and with the Negrenses’ observance of all health and safety protocols, we believe that Bacolod City and the rest of the province will soon be able to win this war by flattening the curve even before the release of a Covid-19 vaccine,” Bautista said.
She added that the EDC initiative is part of its series of Covid-19 community assistance to the Visayas Region, specifically in Negros Island, Ormoc City, and Iloilo.
Bautista added that the first own molecular laboratory of Negros Oriental that EDC had funded already started operations last week, while the first testing facility of Ormoc City just got the green light to operate from the Department of Health this week.
EDC has already provided over P6-million worth of assistance to partner communities in Bago City and Murcia, to the Diocese of Bacolod, to various local government units, and to its customers in Negros Occidental alone since the onset of the pandemic even if it has no operations in these areas. The company said this is part of its commitment to continuously support Negros Occidental.
Assistance provided include sacks of rice, food packs, bottles of alcohol, and medical supplies that were distributed in three phases. “As we continue to keep our employees safe and provide uninterrupted clean, renewable, and reliable power to the country, we will keep on finding ways to uplift our stakeholders in Negros Island to help them beat the health and economic crisis brought about by Covid-19. This is part of our commitment to go beyond sustainability that merely seeks to do less harm by being regenerative,” Bautista said.*
