On 22 January 2020, Berjaya Philippines distributed relief packs to 350 individuals from 100
families at an evacuation center in Barangay San Antonio in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. Leading the
relief operations was Berjaya Philippines’ Executive Director Tan Eng Hwa along with officers
and employees of Philippine Gaming Management Corporation (“PGMC”) and Berjaya Makati Hotel,
subsidiaries of Berjaya Philippines.
Each family was given a set of eating utensils, towels and clothing. They were treated to a
lunch of steamed rice and tinolang manok (Filipino ginger chicken soup) cooked on-the-spot by
Berjaya Makati Hotel’s head chef RJ Mabalay, with his team the Kusina ng Berjaya (Berjaya’s
Kitchen). The kitchen items used were all newly-purchased and given to the evacuation centre for
their use after the visit. The children were treated to all-you-can-eat taho (sweetened tofu
with tapioca pearls), native rice cakes, and ice cream.
The evacuees were residents of Tanauan, a town within the 14-kilometer radius declared as a
danger zone by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) after Taal
Volcano located in the province of Batangas spewed smoke and ash up to 14 kilometers into the
air on 12 January 2020, prompting warnings of a possible ‘explosive eruption’ within hours or
days.