UPS airlifts donations for Typhoon Odette victims in Cebu, Philippines

UPS has provided in-kind transportation for relief supplies to victims of Typhoon Odette, also known as Typhoon Rai, which has devasted many Filipino communities in Southern Philippines since mid-December. To date, UPS has flown seven flights from Clark to Cebu carrying over 40 tons of relief supplies.  

Relief supplies include food packs, bottled drinking water, hygiene kits and other necessities that arrived at the UPS Hub in Manila and Clark. These donations were coordinated through the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) and came from organizations including the Jollibee Group Foundation, One Meralco Foundation, PricewaterhouseCoopers and The Aboitiz Foundation. Responding to an urgent need for aid, Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI) and Air21 likewise reached out to UPS to airlift their relief supplies donation to Cebu.

Chris Buono, Managing Director for the Philippines and Indonesia said, “Our hearts go out to the people who have lost their homes, belongings and loved ones during this tragedy. This is a difficult time for all of them and UPS employees on-the-ground at our Manila and Clark hubs are doing our best to provide support by loading supplies to affected communities in Cebu as quickly as we can.” 

He added: “The UPS Foundation is committed to health & humanitarian relief. Working with partners like the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation to deliver vital relief supplies, we hope to bring hope and positivity to families affected by Typhoon Odette.” 

Typhoon Odette has caused significant damage to food and water supplies, agriculture, infrastructure, electricity, communication, as well as transportation in several provinces. To support the government in its response, the largest corporations, and businesses from various industries in the Philippines have coordinated with Philippines Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF)’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to bring donations to provinces affected by Typhoon Odette.

UPS is playing a critical role in airlifting these donations to Cebu in the quickest possible time. They will continuously work with the private sector and the government to provide the much-needed relief goods to Filipinos.