LOOK: Bea Alonzo, Vhong Navarro send 500 food packs to stranded UP Diliman students, Leni Robredo’s frontliners

Bea Alonzo (left) and Vhong Navarro with wife and team (Image: Instagram/@beaalonzo)

Actors Bea Alonzo and Vhong Navarro prepared meals for stranded students at the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) in Quezon City and for frontline workers of the organization Youth for Nationalism and Democracy and the Office of Vice President Leni Robredo.

The actors’ efforts were made through the organization Alonzo co-founded with her friend and movie producer Rina Navarro called I Am Hope. The group handed out 500 food packs to the individuals amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as per Alonzo’s Instagram post yesterday, May 21.

Vhong and his wife, Tanya Bautista, who are also members of the organization, prepared 100 meals from their home, while 100 food packs came straight from Alonzo’s kitchen. The remaining 300 were prepared by Rina and the rest of the organization’s volunteers in their headquarters.

“Even though we’re miles away from each other, it was as if I was cooking right next to them, with the same goal of putting smiles on people’s faces and filling their tummies with food prepared with LOVE and HOPE,” Alonzo said.

The “One More Chance” star held a container filled with Arroz a la Cubana, a meal that usually consists of ground meat, egg and fried bananas. Through a series of photos, Alonzo also showed tables filled with meal packs from Vhong’s home and the food Rina and the rest of their team prepared.

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Vhong thanked the organization’s united effort to make the initiative possible via his Instagram account on the same day.

“[Arroz a la Cubana] challenge,” Vhong said. “Para po ito sa 500 UP students and women frontliners na na-stranded at hindi na nakauwi sa kani-kanilang mga probinsiya (This is for the 500 UP students and women frontliners who are stranded and cannot go home to their provinces).”

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The meals were sent to various student dormitories in UPD, as per I Am Hope Organization’s Instagram post yesterday.

“Thank you to the University of the Philippines for keeping the stranded students safe in your care,” it said. “Thank you, Youth for Nationalism and Democracy [and] Office of VP Leni Robredo for the opportunity to help.”

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The group has done several donation drives and fundraisers to help with COVID-19 relief efforts.

Alonzo’s organization previously distributed relief goods to jeepney drivers in Manila whose livelihoods are affected by the enhanced community quarantine. The group has also raised P6 million to give food, vitamins, medical supplies and personal protective equipment to several hospitals and communities.  /ra

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