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| (Image Source: Manila Standard/ABS-CBN Corporation) |
ABS-CBN Corporation's various efforts to help Filipinos cope during the COVID-19 pandemic has been honored in the 2021 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, which will have a virtual awarding ceremony on July 14, 2021. The premiere media and entertainment company in the Philippines is a recipient of a Silver Stevie Award for Most Valuable Corporate Response which honors innovation in business in the Asia Pacific region.
In 2020, despite the indefinite absence of its free TV and radio broadcasts due to the non-renewal of its legislative franchise, ABS-CBN took a multi-pronged approach to address the needs of the Filipinos as COVID-19 threatened and disputed their lives. To help those who have lost their livelihoods due to the pandemic, ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation spearheaded the "Pantawid Ng Pag-Ibig" fundraising campaign in March 2020 wherein their parent conglomerate Lopez Group of Companies donated Php50 million as seed money. The network also staged agroundbreaking digital concert featuring more than 100 celebrities to raise funds for the said initiative which was able to provide food and basic necessities to over 900,000 families nationwide through the cooperation of local government units and the private sector.
Prior to the implementation of the community quarantine restrictions in different parts of the country, ABS-CBN already began educating the public on COVID-19 through the "Ligtas Pilipinas Sa COVID-19" information drive. Through its undaunting news coverage and documentaries, ABS-CBN kept people informed on the government's efforts to fight the virus and showed the impact of the continuing public health crisis to Filipinos, especially to health care workers. As people are mandated to stay indoors, ABS-CBN gave them a variety of programs to watch on various television and digital platforms as essential sources of entertainment and inspiration such as several well-loved shows and educational programs as well as a daily mass and fitness show for the spiritual and physical well-being of families. On the other hand, viewers are able to access new and favorite movies and new content being offered on ABS-CBN's digital platforms such as the online streaming service iWantTFC.
ABS-CBN's response against the COVID-19 pandemic has also received a Silver Stevie in the 2020 International Business Awards and a Philippine Quill award given by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines.
