SMC gives workers full pay; commits P11.67-B in payments to gov’t

FILE: San Miguel Corporation Headquarters at Ortigas Center, Pasig City (Photo By Elmer B. Domingo/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA — San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has committed to grant full-time pay to all its employees and extended workforce as the ECQ remains in effect, even as it works round the clock mobilizing resources to help address the larger societal and economic impact of the coronavirus crisis.

In a news release, SMC also announced that it has set aside PHP11.67 billion in tax, concession and contractual payments throughout the quarantine period to make available funds needed to respond effectively to the challenges of the pandemic.

Of the amount, SMC said it already paid government PHP8.77 billion, while the remaining balance will be remitted before the end of the ECQ.

Meanwhile, it has released full compensation with benefits amounting to over PHP3 billion for all its 66,557 employees, consultants and contract workers.

“These are trying times and while we, as a company, are not immune to the challenges of this crisis, the safety and security of our workforce will always come first. We do not want them worrying about their jobs,” SMC president and COO Ramon S. Ang said.

Ang said told SMC employees that he is “truly proud of the hard work that you, most especially our front-liners, have been doing in the midst of the challenges: delivering essential goods and services that are critical in this battle.”

To date, SMC and the businesses under it, have provided assistance of over PHP1 billion in the form of cash, food, flour, disinfectant alcohol, fuel, free toll and personal protective equipment (PPE) donations to vulnerable communities and front liners.

It has also built emergency quarantine facilities together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to help ease the pressure on health facilities flooded by patients needing intensive medical treatment resulting from the pandemic.