The UP Beta Epsilon Fraternity (UPBE), based in the UP Diliman College of Engineering, is doing its part to help the country win the war against COVID-19.
As reported in an April 29 post in the UP Beta Epsilon’s Facebook page, the fraternity donated 10,000 high-grade isolation coveralls to the medical and healthcare frontliners of the UP Manila-Philippine General Hospital (UPM-PGH), one of the country’s designated COVID-19 referral centers. The Class-A isolation coveralls were approved by UPM-PGH officials and department chairpersons beforehand, and delivered to the hospital via two trucks on April 28.
The donation of the isolation coveralls was the result of a three-week mobilization of UPBE brothers and friends, some of whom worked to secure funding for the project, while other members who are based in China handled selection, procurement and air-freighting. UPBE alumni Engr. Alex Ibasco (EE ’78) and Engr. Ojie Alzona (IE ’77) spearheaded the effort.
As UP Beta Epsilon Fraternity member and UP Engineering Research & Development Foundation, Inc. (UP ERDFI) executive director Engr. Alfonso “Tito” Aliga, Jr. shared in an email, UPM-PGH executive director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi thanked the fraternity for its efforts, but noted that “the challenge continues,” although he cited the greater number of COVID-19 recoveries than deaths as an encouraging development.
According to the Facebook post, “PPEs (personal protective equipment) are rapidly decreasing everyday as our hospitals continue their battle against the coronavirus pandemic. The donated PPEs will hopefully help the PGH frontline medical workers to properly equip themselves with protection against the COVID-19 virus.”
The UP Beta Epsilon Fraternity, which stands for “Brotherhood of Engineers”, is the oldest engineering fraternity in Asia, having celebrated its 90th anniversary last August 23. The fraternity is exclusive for Engineering and Architecture students of UP Diliman, and has strong ties with the UP College of Architecture, recognizing the importance of architecture in the engineering discipline. The UPBE is one of the three organizations and the only fraternity to be given the Wenceslao Q. Vinzons Award for outstanding service to the UP with its conceptualization and construction of the Beta Epsilon Way. It is also the first and only recipient of the Best Fraternity award back in 2004.
