Supporters and volunteers of Vice President Leni Robredo celebrated her birthday on Friday, April 23, with the "National Lugaw Day," where residents from over 100 areas in the country were served rice porridge.
Blogger Jover Laurio of the Pinoy Ako Blog, one of the volunteers who arranged the event, said they launched the community feeding program to have a meaningful celebration of the Vice President's 56th birthday.
"We want to give the Vice President a meaningful birthday celebration and the best way to do it is to feed our hungry and needy countrymen who are badly hit by the pandemic," she said.
According to Laurio, they started with 15 teams in February and the plan snowballed to other areas with additional 12 teams in March.
She, together with other supporters, visited Maginhawa Street in Quezon City where they handed out free lugaw to hundreds who were lining up for the Maginhawa Community Pantry before heading to Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila on Friday morning.
The number of teams that conducted the community feeding program in various parts of the country increased to 103.
Simultaneous feeding programs were held in Iloilo, Lapu-Lapu City, Quezon City, Guimaras, Maguindanao, Bulacan, Masbate City, Naga, Albay, Calbayog, Las Piñas, Parañaque, Taguig, Gumaca, Isabela, Batangas, Catbalogan, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Baguio, Basilan, Negros, Caloocan, Antipolo, Lucena, Cadiz City, Pasay, Manila, and Antique.
The National Lugaw Day was likewise observed in various parts of Muntinlupa, Tarlac, Malabon, Cagayan de Oro, Pampanga, Camarines Sur, Bataan, Marawi, Antique, Zambales, Caloocan, Makati, Laguna, Aklan, Valenzuela, and Navotas.
Vice President Leni Robredo has expressed her appreciation for the initiative of her supporters. However, she reminded them to follow minimum health standards to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
"I have been reading posts about friends and supporters doing a Lugaw Feeding Program tomorrow. It’s the best thing to do on your special day-- by being a blessing to other people," she wrote on a Facebook post.
"Just want to remind everyone to take extra precaution because we are still in the middle of the pandemic. Please make sure that there will be no gathering of big groups and always, always ensure physical distancing," she added.