10 September 2021 – As Ilocos Norte battles an upsurge of COVID-19 cases, AC Energy’s wind farms, NorthWind and North Luzon Renewables (NLR), worked with the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) to fortify the local healthcare system, donating a combined ₱4 million worth of medical supplies to mitigate the impact of the pandemic to the community. The wind farms also allocated an additional ₱2 million cascaded into health and food relief as well as educational tools, with the priority to provide the local community with the aid they most need.
To augment the challenges in the hospitals, NorthWind and NLR donated personal protective equipment (PPEs), 500 gallons of alcohol, and four units of Integrated Microelectronics Inc.’s UCL Ventura Flow Generator, a non-invasive ventilation system for COVID-19 patients. The donations were delivered by North Luzon Renewables CSR Manager Raymond Sesuca and received by Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc and Mr. Marcell Tabije, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Officer. The supplies were sent to the province’s two designated COVID hospitals, namely Governor Roque B. Ablan Sr. Memorial Hospital in Laoag City, and Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital & Medical Center in Batac City.
“As we continue to ensure stable and sustainable access to power amidst this crisis, we will also continue to draw on our strengths and provide urgent aid to our host communities,” said Gabby Mejia, AC Energy Executive Director and Head of Plant Operations. “We can only progress towards a sustainable and resilient post-COVID world if we all work together.”
“We are grateful to AC Energy, and all the organizations and individuals who contributed to our fight against COVID-19 since the beginning,” said Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc. “While we still have a lot of work to do, their response to our call for support dramatically scales up the safety net for our local community amidst the pandemic, and is a true expression of solidarity.”
Ilocos Norte’s hospitals are currently at capacity with COVID cases, and the local government continues to work overtime to vacate and convert hospital parking lots into COVID ward extensions. Most recently, the province has more than 3,000 total active cases, while there have been more than 15,000 cases to date with 12,000 recoveries, and 200 deaths.
Since the pandemic began its onslaught in early 2020, Northwind and NLR have been supporting its communities and their frontliners in Ilocos Norte through donations of cash, medical supplies such as face masks, alcohol and 3D filaments, and food supplies such as local produce, canned goods, food packs, sacks of rice and other grocery items.
In June 2020, AC Energy, through its wind farms, donated close to ₱1 million to the Ilocos Norte LGU that was cascaded into meals for frontliners and patients in quarantined areas, and included critical medicines, additional PPEs and lighting equipment.
The wind farms also ensured the continuity in education by responding to the urgent needs of students and teachers as they continuously adopt to distance learning. Samsung Galaxy tablets worth ₱1 million were distributed to different schools in Ilocos Norte to keep the learners safe at home as they attend their classes.
