One of the biggest challenges in this time of community quarantine is transporting (and protecting) professional health workers—or those at the front line in our battle with the highly contagious coronavirus. Because public transportation has been temporarily shut down, many of these modern-day heroes are finding it very difficult to travel to hospitals where they care for SARS-CoV-2 patients.

Government agencies and even private businesses have stepped up in an effort to make lockdown life easier for these frontliners, but their daily needs are obviously so enormous that more sources of assistance are very much welcome. Thankfully, fuel companies, which we often accuse of being greedy and profit-minded, are also joining the campaign to lend a hand to doctors, nurses and other medical workers.

Below are what some of them are doing at the moment.

Petron Corporation. The leading petroleum firm is now asking holders of its Petron Value Card to donate points so that personal protection equipment, masks and relief goods may be purchased for the benefit of frontline workers at the following hospitals:

• Lung Center of the Philippines
• Philippine General Hospital
• Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital
• San Lazaro Hospital

To donate PVC points (1 PVC point is equivalent to P1), just text the following to (0917) 567-1111:

DONATE<space>COVID19<space>16-DIGIT CARD NUMBER<space>AMOUNT

There is no minimum amount required to make a donation.

Seaoil Philippines. All frontline workers are being offered discounts by the fuel company until April 12. The discounts may not seem much—P5 per liter of gasoline and P3 per liter of diesel—but Seaoil is also inviting people to donate cash (minimum of P50) to help provide free fuel to medical workers. Beneficiaries are those working at these hospitals:

• Amai Pakpak Medical Center
• Batangas Medical Center
• Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital
• De La Salle Health Sciences Institute
• De La Salle University Medical Center
• Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital (Bacolod)
• East Avenue Medical Center
• Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center
• Las Piñas Doctors Hospital
• National Children’s Hospital
• Northern Mindanao Medical Center Capitol Compound
• Philippine General Hospital
• Philippine Heart Center
• Provincial Health Office Eastern Samar
• Quezon City General Hospital
• Quirino Memorial Medical Center
• Research Institute for Tropical Medicine
• Roxas Memorial Provincial Hospital
• San Lazaro Hospital
• West Visayas State University Medical Center

If you want to donate, click here.

Total Philippines. The French oil company is giving free fuel (yes, free) to health workers until April 17. But there are guidelines that need to be observed. First, only the first 30 medical personnel—with proper identification, of course—by 7am every day at each participating station will get the freebie. There’s also a daily limit: P300 per vehicle and P1,000 per DOTr-accredited shuttle bus.

Here are the Total stations included in the campaign:

• Alabang, Filinvest Corporate City, Muntinlupa City
• NAIA, Tambo, Parañaque City
• EDSA Pasay, Malibay, Pasay City
• C5 Pasig, Bagong Ilog, Pasig City
• Greenhills, Ortigas Avenue, San Juan City
• R. Magsaysay, Santa Mesa, Manila City
• J.P. Rizal, Malanday, Marikina City
• Marcos Highway, Mayamot, Antipolo City
• Valenzuela, Karuhatan, Valenzuela City
• Mindanao Avenue, Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City
• Commonwealth, Matandang Balara, Quezon City
• Tuguegarao 1 , Carig Sur, Tuguegarao City, Cagayan
• Rioeng, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte
• Abanao , Kisad Road, Baguio City
• Cabcaben Highway, Mariveles, Bataan
• San Fernando, Dolores, San Fernando City, Pampanga
• San Jose Del Monte, Governor Fortunato Halili Road, Bulacan
• San Pedro, Puerto Princesa, Palawan
• San Agustin, Romblon
• San Angel, San Jose de Buenavista, Antique
• Bata-Pepsi, Bacolod City, Negros Occidental
• Looc, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental
• Tagbilaran City, Bohol

No purchase is necessary to avail of the free fuel.