DAVAO CITY (PIA) --The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office XI and SM Foundation have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in support of Operation Tulong Express (OPTE), which aims to gather relief items to be given to survivors of calamities.

“There are many people asking us where to course our donations, such that SM malawak po ang reach niya (has a wider reach), and they are very willing to help us become a medium wherein benevolent partners can provide provisions, and this paved the way for the signing of the MOA,” DSWD XI regional director Vanessa Goc-Ong said during the signing of the MOA on April 15, at Kapehan sa Dabaw media forum inside SM City Davao.

Cristina Angeles, assistant vice president for outreach and livelihood programs at the SM Foundation, said this partnership with DSWD for “Operation Tulong Express” dates back to 1999.

“Together, we’ve been going around helping sa mga disaster calamity areas, and DSWD has played a great role in the distribution of our donations, and now we want to expand by inviting those who would like to donate in these areas, para madala natin and sigurado ang mga tao na na ano ang idodonate nyo sa programang ito ay siguradong makakarating sa mga nangangailangan (so we can assure people that whatever they donate will surely reach those in need),” Angeles said.

With the MOA, the SM Foundation will gather donations from SM Malls, its tenants, and SM stores alongside generous partners, and these goods will be distributed to affected families through DSWD.

Aside from the OPTEpartnership, the DSWD-XI and SM partnership also extended into the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), where DSWD requested a space in the mall as a waiting area to decongest the crowded DSWD Field Office in Davao. (RGA/PIA Davao)