Two private companies – foodpanda PH and Philippine Seven Corp. – linked up with the Caloocan City government through its Caloocan Anti-Drug Abuse Office (CADAO), and a local non-profit group called ASCORP to launch a livelihood program called “BuyAnihan Palengke” last Tuesday.

The BuyAnihan Palengke project seeks to provide a source of income for underserved sectors including those who lost their jobs during the pandemic.

Representatives of foodpanda PH, a leading online food and goods delivery and quick commerce platform provider, and Philippine Seven, which operates the 24-hour 7-11 retail stores nationwide, signed an agreement with Caloocan City, which would serve as a pilot area for the BuyAnihan Palengke.

BuyAnihan would link up beneficiaries with sources of agricultural produce which they could resell.

The project’s target beneficiaries include drug rehabilitation graduates of CADAO and Diocese of Caloocan programs, who are now being cared for by BuyAnihan’s precursor program, Salubong Carrots Atbp, of the city government and the diocese.

Caloocan City Rep. Dale Malapitan and lawyer Bok Labastilla, head of CADAO, signed the memorandum of agreement for BuyAnihan Palengke with Daniel Marogy, foodpanda PH managing director, and Victor Paterno, Philippine Seven CEO.

Also signing the agreement were Dr. Angelita Catedral of the Asian Society of Community Rehab Practitioners (ASCORP) and a representative from the Caloocan diocese involved in Salubong Carrots.

Marogy said one of the objectives of BuyAnihan is to provide a source of income to its beneficiaries including families of foodpanda riders and those who lost their jobs during the pandemic such as former OFWs, out of school youths and solo parents.

“We want to build their confidence and lead them towards the path of financial independence,” Marogy said.

Paterno, Philippine Seven CEO, on the other hand added that BuyAnihan intends to pave the way for reformed drug dependents / drug rehab graduates to be productive members of society.

Representative Malapitan vowed to support the BuyAnihan Palengke program, saying Foodpanda and Philippine Seven were showing the way forward for other companies. “I wish more companies would follow suit and align their CSR projects with the needs of our communities and marginalized sectors,” said Malapitan.

BuyAnihan’s aim was three-pronged: Provide a source of income for the underserved, provide decent profit margins to farmers and give consumers direct access to fresh farm produce at affordable prices, Marogy said.

Paterno said his company welcomed the chance to make a difference in the lives of the poor who were stricken hard by the pandemic.

“Our trucks travel all over the country and it would be an honor for our company to be able to use our logistics chain to help,” Paterno said.

Under the MOA, foodpanda will provide seed capital for beneficiaries to jumpstart their reselling business while 7-11 will use its trucks to pick up fruits and vegetables directly from farms for delivery to BuyAnihan Palengke hubs in Caloocan City and, soon, in other parts of Metro Manila.

BuyAnihan Palengke originated from Salubong ng Carrots Atbp, an aftercare program for reformed drug dependents of the Caloocan City diocese.

ASCORP will implement the program in close coordination with the city government and also manage funds from foodpanda to jumpstart it. It will work closely with CADAO to identify beneficiaries among reformed drug dependents and train them.

One of the reformed drug dependents being given hope is Meredith Mendoza, 39.

She said she saw BuyAnihan Palengke as a chance to pay back the community that has opened doors for her. She started to use drugs in 1998 which landed her in jail for two weeks in Caloocan. After getting married, she and her husband moved to Nueva Ecija to grow and sell vegetables for seven years. But a series of tragedies, including the deaths of her husband and their first child, led Meredith to depression and ultimately back to using drugs.

Meredith went in and out of broken relationships, rearing children out of wedlock and getting arrested for drug use. A former live-in partner was killed by police while she was in jail, which made her see that drugs would harm not only her but her children, too.

Today, Meredith is completely drug-free and reports to the diocese regularly as part of the Salubong ng Carrots Atbp aftercare program. She is one of several other drug rehab graduates who will join BuyAnihan Palengke as a community reseller.

Dr. Ponch Villaroman, chief of the rehab center in Bicutan, lauded the initiative. “We need more aftercare programs and livelihood projects like BuyAnihan Palengke because it helps bring back former drug dependents to the folds of society,” he said.

We can all agree that we miss social gatherings. With the lockdown still in place, any type of festivity is put on hold for our safety. But that isn’t stopping CLiQQ, 7-Eleven’s loyalty and rewards app. This year, it’s giving its own spin on fan conventions to celebrate 7-Eleven’s anniversary!

Get ready for the CLiQQ Con…and CLiQQ’s giving away more than just points this year!

Meet its league of superheroes: CLiQQBack Man, Captain Catalog, and Flash Sale Man. They’re putting their powers together to save us from inconvenience. So stay alert…CLiQQers can expect a lot of surprises on CLiQQ’s official FB page in the coming days.

Something to look forward to is CLiQQ’s live catalog ‘Catalive,’ hosted by comedian Red Ollero suiting up as the One Punchline Man. You’ll find all the good deals from CLiQQ’s Rewards Catalog in this segment.

Everyone’s favorite ‘Pinakamabilis na Game Show’ is also back, and CLiQQ is giving away hundreds of CLiQQ Wallet credits. Its literally dropping the bomb in a ‘Rescue Operation’-themed show, hosted by Kleggy Abaya as the mischievous Mr. Yoso.

With so many prizes, everyday is a chance to win something…but the celebration doesn’t end there. 

CLiQQ has more to offer its consumers with the launch of CLiQQgrocery.com, their eCommerce platform where customers can shop using their CLiQQ points. Also get to earn more points when they buy groceries from cliqqgrocery.com. The more they buy, the more points they get. CLiQQgrocery.com gives customers 20% bonus points for CLiQQ Wallet or CLiQQ points plus cash on pick-up transactions. With points, the more money will circulate — helping our economy in the end.

Over 200M CLiQQ points can be used by CLiQQ users to shop at CLiQQgrocery.com. This is their way of giving back to their valued CLiQQ members. 

CLiQQ Con is CLiQQ’s biggest celebration of 2021, so make sure to download the app from the App Store for iOS, and from the Google Play Store for Android. 

Don’t forget to follow CLiQQ on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cliqq.ph. There are more surprises to come, so make sure to stay in the loop!

The CLiQQ Con is being run in collaboration with GIGIL, an award-winning ideas agency.