MANILA, Philippines -- After figuring in numerous wars in the UAAP, archrivals Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University are teaming up to fight a common enemy in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Society of Jesus and the De La Salle Brothers have joined forces to raise funds for the vulnerable communities affected by the enhanced community quarantine in a campaign called "Let's Work Together To Fight COVID-19."

Even before this collaborative effort, Ateneo and La Salle have done their part in helping the country during the crisis.

La Salle, together with the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center, opened the doors of the Razon Sports Complex and the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde's covered courts to the homeless of Manila, providing them with shelter and food.

Ateneo, meanwhile, opened its dormitories to medical frontliners.

"I appreciated the shelters, so the first thing that crossed my mind was to help," said Philippine Jesuit Provincial Fr. Jun Viray, SJ. "The Ateneo alumni, those in business, said they'd like to help."

"I told them, 'Let's raise money together with our friends -- which means also La Salle friends'," he added.

"A little conversation between myself and Father Jun created a spark that is more explosive than UAAP that allowed us to say, maybe this is the time to work together rather than compete," said DLSU president Bro. Armin Luistro, FSC.

As of April 15, their initiative has raised P10,000,000 that will feed almost 500 homeless individuals and 6,000 urban poor families.

To join the cause, one can send their donations to the following accounts:

For Ateneo*:

METROBANK

Account name: Tanging Yaman Foundation, Inc.

Metrobank Peso Checking Account Number: 448-7-44800988-9

BPI

Account name: Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan

BPI Peso Checking Account Number: 3081-1111-61

*For proper acknowledgement, kindly send photo of the deposit slip to [email protected]

For La Salle**:

RCBC

Account name: De La Salle Brothers, Inc.

Account number: 7590-569081

Security Bank:

Account name: De La Salle Brothers, Inc.

Account number: 0000014366500

BPI:

Account name: De La Salle Brothers, Inc.

Account number: 3103-3749-86

**GCash and PayMaya donations may also be transferred online to any of the above bank accounts

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