Even after the cooking competition is long over, Solane Kitchen Hero Chef’s Edition 2019 winners and ambassador continue the battle, but this time, to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. SKH winner’s chef Roseller “Soy” Fiel and chef Coke Semblante, along with SKH ambassador chef Sau Del Rosario spearheaded food drives for the frontliners, with the support of Solane, the country’s leading LPG solutions provider.
Solane Kitchen Hero Chef’s Edition is a cooking competition held last May to September 2019 to showcase talented Filipino professional chefs hailing from different regions.
Chef Soy from Lanao Del Norte has initiated a food provision distribution for frontliners in his province, including those assigned at the Kapatagan Provincial Hospital and Kapatagan Isolation Facility for the persons under investigation, PNP, BFP and other personnel at the Quarantine Control Points in the Municipality of Lala, Salvado, and Kapatagan.
Meanwhile, in Cebu, Chef Coke partnered with Cocina Collective to provide nutritional snacks for frontliners. Together, they produce and distribute 350 to 700 burgers daily. “We have reached out to frontliners in a total of seven hospitals -- both private and public -- as well as in four barangays, Cebu City police offices, and to checkpoint and public sanitation personnel. We aim to do more until this crisis is controlled.”
SKH ambassador Chef Sau from Pampanga has been working, preparing meal packs twice a week for delivery to different hospitals in the province. He called on his colleagues and friends to join his cause, and they are able to procure 500 healthy meal packs per delivery run. “Those working in the hospitals are working 12 to 16 hours a day. And we’re here to cheer them on and nourish them,” he said.
Supporting them in their daily cooking battle against COVID-19 is Solane, which provides the cooking fuel for free. “As these frontliners are working hard to make sure we are safe and healthy, Solane is here to help make sure they are taken care of,” says Solane CEO Ruben Domingo.
From health workers and security guards to restaurant workers and now chefs, heroes can be found everywhere amid these difficult times
Just over a week, since President Duterte signed the Bayanihan to Heal as One (BAHO) Act, the emergency powers vested on him bared its fangs on the Filipino people.Alongside the increase of cases of COVID-19, there seems to be an outbreak of violence and rights violations too. Last March 27, a teacher and her son were arrested in General Santos City for criticizing the mayor's inaction on food distribution. On April 1, the NBI filed a case against Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto for insisting on ferrying health workers with tricycles in the city. Later that evening, in reaction to public protest by residents of Sitio San Roque to clamor for food, Duterte ordered the military to "shoot them [any protesters] dead" in a nationwide address. In the morning of April 2, Atty. Chel Diokno released to the public that the NBI has filed subpoenas to individuals for critical opinions on social media.It is clear in these cases how the BAHO Act has been weaponized to punish and silence critics of the government's insufficient response to the pandemic. The Filipino people need food, cash aid, and solidarity but are instead met with fear and threats of violence. This litany of abuses against civil liberties will continue to grow if we are to turn a blind eye to their actions - precisely what they want by keeping the people silent.Our vigilance is part of our social solidarity. Government has launched today the social packages for the 18 million families. While we welcome this to aid struggling Filipino families, we demand the transparent and detailed breakdown of the P275 billion. We warn against red tape, unauthorized fees and other impediments in accessing the assistance. We continue our vigilance against corruption and abuse amidst this humanitarian crisis.The solidarity of the people keep us strong. The health workers who take long shifts, the farmers and fisherfolk who put food on our table, and the ordinary volunteers and donors have kept us safe and strong in the middle of this crisis. While the government continues to threaten us while failing to keep us safe, we must continue to stand for each other against the sickness and the excessive violence they throw at us.
LBC heeds the government’s call to move for the nation, during this time of COVID-19, and commits Php 50 million worth of supply of (washable/reusable) 2-ply masks, to support Filipino communities and mitigate the virus’ spread in at-risk areas. This affirmative action is part of LBC’s response, and in coordination with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the temporary shortage of masks and distribution of these in densely populated areas of the country will be addressed. “The current situation calls for people to do their ‘part’: be it by staying at home or having to risk their own safety by going to work, to treat the sick. For us at LBC, our ‘part’ is to move-- together with our courageous frontliners, and join the fight,” said Executive Director of the LBC Foundation, Nena L. Wuthrich.
“LBC is starting this mask program with hopes of being one with all Filipinos--to ‘flatten the curve.’ This initiative is also set to assist in educating the public more, on the vital function of masks to protect not just themselves, but also others around them. We believe that masks can and will save lives,” Wuthrich adds. This initiative concurs with the recent announcement of The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, mandating the public to wear any type of mask before leaving their place of residence, to minimize or if not totally to prevent the transmission of the Covid-19 virus from one person to another.
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