Vice President Leni Robredo on Friday reiterated the need for a more prompt and concrete response to the ongoing public health emergency as the country continues to grapple with the impact of COVID-19.
In her speech during the “Tara! Mag Tik-Talk Tayo” webinar conducted by the Ateneo de Naga University Center for Local Governance, Robredo noted that “as the months pass by, we see that more and more of our people are losing their jobs and livelihood, and thousands are getting infected with the virus.”
While there is “no single, fixed answer” to end the crisis, Robredo stressed the importance of a “more loving option” in the context of governance. Now, more than ever, she underscored the need to “orient policies, decisions, and actions towards our people.”
Robredo noted that during these extraordinary times, “there is no time to waste: we have to find the gaps and fill them; we have to make our own path, set our own direction. We, ourselves, must rise and do what can be done—in the here and now.”
While the pandemic continues to test the country’s resilience, Robredo said that the crisis taught people the importance to contribute, to be involved and to extend reach to help. “Everyone should be all hands on deck every step inches us closer to our collective goal,” she added.
Robredo then shared the initiatives of the COVID-19 Response Operations at the Office of the Vice President (OVP). She explained that since January, OVP kept itself updated about how the coronavirus pandemic was unfolding.
By speaking to experts on infectious diseases, public health, and the economy to understand how COVID-19 will affect the country, the OVP has been rolling out initiatives to address these effects in an “impactful, creative, and strategic manner.”
In particular, Robredo mentioned the “Kaya Natin Donation Drive for PPEs” where a little over P5 million was appropriated for PPE sets that were distributed to hospitals in Metro Manila.
“Through this donation drive, we found ourselves overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from our fellow Filipinos,” she said. In the end, the OVP was able to collect more than P61 million.
With the help of its partners, Robredo said that OVP has reached more than 15,000 frontliners across the country by providing at least 230,000 PPE sets and 19,500 locally-produced PPE suits and sent food and care packages as well as medical supplies to over 1,151 institutions nationwide.
Robredo also noted the OVP’s “Free Shuttle Service” which has helped many health workers who were unable to go to work or were forced to walk long hours just to get to the hospital due to the lack of public transport during the Enhance Community Quarantine (ECQ).
Because the shuttle services were limited mostly within Metro Manila, Robredo said that the OVP also received a lot of requests for temporary accommodations for frontliners - thus, “Free dorms” were also offered to them.
Since March, Robredo said that the OVP was able to open 12 dormitories in Metro Manila and temporary shelters in the province like Legazpi City and Baguio City. “As of today, some of these dorms still remain operational,” she explained. To date, the dormitories have served nearly 500 frontliners.
Another initiative under OVP’s COVID-19 response operations is the “Community Mart” in Quezon City, Pasig, Muntinlupa, and Zamboanga City to help market vendors and tricycle drivers who started losing income.
Robredo also noted the ongoing assistance given to communities by delivering more than relief packs, face masks, mattresses, blankets and mosquito nets - among others.
The OVP also helped more than 1,800 locally stranded individuals get home by providing them with transportation services. The “Bayanihan Sugbuanon” aimed to assist Cebu frontliners and provided the same service such as free shuttle services and ferry rides and temporary living spaces for health workers - among others while the “Bayanihan E-skwela” focuses on OVP’s distance learning initiatives.
“For every initiative we started, our goal has always been clear: to do what must and can be done, to stretch our capabilities, and to enlarge the centers of gravity for COVID-19 response efforts,” Robredo said. This is to: "establish some stability, something to remind our people that despite the struggles, there is a direction, and sure steps can be made toward betterment.”