DFA Spreads Love in the Time of COVID-19 Through a Blood Donation Drive

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin confers with Dr. Gerald Valeriano of the Philippine Red Cross (leftmost) at the blood donation drive. Also present were Undersecretary for Administration J. Eduardo Malaya (second from left), Assistant Secretary for Human Resource Management Antonio Morales (third from left), and DFA Physician Natividad M. Vizcarra. (Photo by Nilo Palaya)

PASAY CITY 22 July 2020 — As the lead-off activity to the commemoration Thursday of the 122nd founding anniversary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. led the conduct of the blood donation drive “Love in the Time of COVID” at the DFA’s 2nd floor lobby today Wednesday.

A total of 67 DFA personnel volunteered to donate their blood, including Consular Affairs Assistant Secretary Neil Frank Ferrer, BAC Assistant Secretary Imelda Panolong, European Affairs Executive Director Elizabeth Te and Consular Affairs Executive Director Maria Theresa Lazaro.

“This blood donation drive is DFA’s response to the call of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) for blood donors to help save lives as the Philippines faces the COVID-19 pandemic,” Undersecretary for Administration J. Eduardo Malaya said. “There is no better time than in celebration of DFA Day when we rededicate ourselves to the Department’s mission.”

To ensure the safety of blood donation procedure, the activity observed physical distancing and other health precautions in compliance with the guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) amid the COVID-19 pandemic. END