MANILA, Philippines–In an effort to help the Manilenos who lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, foodpanda and the city government of Manila have partnered together to support the LGU’s constituents through pandaBIZikleta, a corporate social responsibility program that entails the donation of bicycle units and biker’s kits to city government bicycle recipients under its livelihood recovery program.
”pandaBIZikleta is foodpanda Philippines’ new contribution and participation in supporting Filipinos through our Corporate Social Advocacy,” Leopoldo De Castro Jr., Finance Director of foodpanda Philippines, said at the ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Agreement with the City Government of Manila to implement the project.
“The goal is to bring opportunity in the form of two wheels to deserving beneficiaries of various programs by giving them free bicycle units. pandaBIZikleta provides livelihood opportunities by onboarding these beneficiaries as freelance delivery service providers of foodpanda, calling them delivery bikers who use bicycles to deliver customers’ orders. Bitbit namin ay pag-asa sa bisikleta,” De Castro added.
The Manila City local government unit (LGU), whose livelihood recovery program was implemented by the Manila Public Employment Service Office and included the distribution of free bicycle units to deserving constituents who remain unemployed, serves as the pilot partner of foodpanda’s new project
The pandaBIZikleta partnership with the Manila LGU will provide the 30 beneficiaries with free bicycle units and safety gears donated by the international relief organization Samaritan’s Purse. In addition to being onboarded as freelance delivery bikers, the 30 deserving Manilenos, as pilot project beneficiaries, will receive foodpanda rider kits consisting of uniforms, thermal box, thermal bag, and panda mask free of charge. Succeeding beneficiaries of the project will receive discounts on the kits and an affordable payment plan.
“We are grateful to the leadership of foodpanda Philippines for its continuing support to the City Government of Manila in our goal to give opportunities to Manileños who seek employment. Our pandaTODA partnership last year has seen remarkable fruits of success after we launched it during the pandemic lockdown.
Now, as we launch pandaBizikleta, we have no doubt that it will be as successful as pandaTODA. foodpanda’s program also comes at a time when the city LGU is gearing up to create programs that will provide as many jobs as possible to its constituents. So thank you, and we look forward to having more beneficiaries being accepted in pandaBIZikleta,” said Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso who hosted the ceremonial signing along with Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna.
foodpanda and the Manila LGU have worked closely in helping displaced Manileno tricycle drivers throughout the pandemic. Manila also served as the pilot partner of foodpanda’s pandaTODA project, which was launched in May last year, and helped hundreds of tricycle drivers earn a living as foodpanda’s freelance delivery riders.
“Manila has always been special to foodpanda. We are a proud partner and we are grateful to Mayor Isko Moreno for working with us once again, and allowing us to contribute to its economic recovery programs,” said Dan Marogy, Managing Director of foodpanda.
Marogy, who spoke in an event celebrating World Bicycle Day the previous week, mentioned pandaBIZikleta in the said event and explained that the project supported the company’s new strategy, and was aligned with their sustainability initiatives.
“Our bikers have become an important part of our mission of bringing food and essential goods to Filipino households. This year we implemented a strategy that promotes more use of bicycles, and we are targeting to increase our share of orders delivered by bicycles by 150 percent before the year ends. This move is meaningful for us because it brings a win-win-win result for our partners and beneficiaries, the company, and also the environment.” said Marogy.
“We’re extremely excited to see pandaBIZikleta evolve and move around the country bringing hope on two wheels,” he concluded.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!