PLDT and wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. ramped up repairs in Bohol and Cebu to restore affected services in the worst-hit areas by Typhoon Odette.
The group has also been focusing efforts on bringing key public facilities across the region back online. On Tuesday, PLDT and Smart reconnected Panglao and Tagbilaran airports in Bohol, as well as the Bacolod-Silay International Airport in Negros Occidental.
PLDT and Smart are also making progress in reconnecting Odette-ravaged communities. In Cebu, the group has partially restored communication services in the province’s major hubs such as the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Talisay. More and more towns have been fully restored in the northwest, northeast, midwest, southeast and southwest portions of Cebu, as well. The group has also reconnected more barangays in the town of Loboc in Bohol.
The group though reminds customers in previously restored areas that they may experience intermittent service because of power supply issues and accidental cuts during clearing operations by local government units.
PLDT and Smart assure customers that technical teams are working around the clock to repair downed sites. Tapping the group’s aviation unit Pacific Global One Aviation (PG1), additional personnel and equipment have been deployed to heavily impacted sites to speed up restoration activities in the aftermath of Odette.
PLDT and Smart have also set up Libreng Tawag, Charging and WiFi stations in over 40 areas badly damaged by the typhoon in Palawan, Visayas and Mindanao. Similar to previous calamities, these communication booths have often served as the lifeline of affected residents to the outside world. Smart also distributed close to 5,000 Smart 5G-ready SIMs, particularly in areas where Smart’s network has survived the typhoon making it the only mobile operator serving these communities.
Guided by the group’s core value of ‘malasakit’ or compassion, PLDT and Smart, together with the PLDT-Smart Foundation (PSF), have been sending relief assistance to typhoon victims in Palawan, Visayas and Mindanao. Working with local partners and volunteers, the group targets to distribute around 14,000 packs of relief items to typhoon-hit communities. PLDT, Smart and PSF continue to engage local government units and partners to reach more typhoon victims.
