By: LORENZ S. MARASIGAN, as seen on https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/04/21/mvp-group-opens-quarantine-facility-for-employees/?fbclid=IwAR2DJjGfSqX4eTOdIjgbaPBXIXCWem5badkoSWlof74X-AjFYRNbT5VQMiI, Published APRIL 21, 2021.

The MVP Group, collectively the businesses led by tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan, has converted some areas of its 10-hectare leadership academy in Antipolo as an emergency quarantine facility for its employees.

With this, asymptomatic or mild cases of Covid-19 may now use the facility for their quarantine or isolation at the First Pacific Leadership Academy (FPLA), which houses a total of 240 individual air-conditioned quarantine tents and beds.

“The essential services—connectivity, power, water, road networks, among others—we have continuously provided since the onset of the pandemic have been the source of stability for many Filipinos, and it is our employees – the backbone of all our Companies—that have allowed us to be contributors in moving for economic recovery,” Pangilinan said.

He added that doctors and nurses to be housed in the facility will work on 8-hour shifts for seven days a week to help treat the group’s employees throughout their 14-day isolation. The group will cover all meals, medical supplies, and data connectivity throughout their stay.

Employees were also given a quarantine leave benefit, which is separate from the standard sick leave credits.

The group is also shouldering the vaccination of 300,000 individuals—employees, qualified dependents, and their household members.

“Our efforts to take care of our workforce aim to reduce overall community transmission, while protecting and providing breathing space to hospitals and medical frontliners, who have been our anchor and support as we continue to battle this pandemic,” Pangilinan added.

Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc. operates the largest hospital chain in the Philippines. Some of its employees from Mindanao were flown into Manila to augment the capacity of hospitals in the capital region.