Globe Telecom to provide relief ops in Guihulngan; Libreng Tawag starts today

Leading telecommunications company Globe Telecom is set to conduct relief operations in the earthquake-devastated town of Guihulngan in Negros Oriental which the government placed under a state of calamity on February 7.

“Globe is already mapping out relief ops plan for Guihulngan since the people there need food, water, and treatment facilities. We are actually ready with the goods but we are still figuring out how to deliver them considering that we got problems with access since roads and bridges are down,” said Rob I. Nazal, Head of Globe Corporate Social Responsibility.

In the meantime, Globe decided to put up a Libreng Tawag center in Guihulngan to give affected residents a chance to call their relatives and friends without charge. The Libreng Tawag facility is located at the town proper where most of the people converge.

With Libreng Tawag, Nazal said Guihulngan residents can easily get in touch with other people to ask for assistance and comfort or simply inform their loved ones about how they are doing. Globe, he said, is committed to providing free mobile phone service in calamity-stricken areas.

Guihulngan is suffering from massive damage not only to homes, roads, and bridges but also to water pipelines and electric lines, thereby, leaving a lot of people in the streets without shelter, food, drinking water, and electricity. Guilhungan was among the hardest hit by the 6.9-magnitude earthquake which struck the province on February 6.

Globe disaster relief operations are being conducted through a partnership with Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB), a Church-based, Jesuit-led organization. Through E-Ugnay Disaster Management System, both Globe and SLB are able to take advantage of the convergence of mobile and internet technologies in consolidating disaster information from all over the country. The system allows on-ground personnel to act immediately whenever calamities strike and to reach out to Filipinos affected by such disasters.