A week after her quarantine, it was business as usual for Vice President Leni Robredo as she returned to work on Monday in her Quezon City office. 

Robredo was raring to go back to work after staying at home last week for self-isolation as part of her office’s coronavirus disease precaution.

The vice president said she had an extended quarantine period from five to seven days until she got a COVID-19 swab test on Sunday morning. She tested negative for the virus.

“We adjusted our protocols in the office because we followed the advice of the doctor,” Robredo said in Filipino over dzXL.

“We are strict in the office. It would be difficult if we would carry the virus, we are the spreader. We get swab test before ground work and do the same when we go back,” she added.

Robredo was in Laguna and Camarines Sur, her home province, before her quarantine to provide cash assistance to communities in support of their livelihood projects. She also visited Quezon province to check on the community learning hubs her office launched.

While she was in quarantine, Robredo said she continued her job by doing paperwork and attending Zoom meetings. She had also posted on Facebook a list of the books she read and her favorite Korean dramas and romantic-comedy movies.

The opposition leader hopes that they can soon use saliva testing instead of the swab test because the latter can get uncomfortable. 

“Yes, we hope that we can use saliva (testing) so... you know, it’s painful to the nose (swab test), especially for us because we do it repeatedly. I don’t know how many times we’ve done it (test),” she said. 

The Philippine Red Cross is set to start saliva testing instead of the swab test, wherein a six-inch long stick is inserted into the nose to get to the cavity between the nose and mouth to take samples from there. 

Saliva test is also cheaper at P2,000 than nasal test, which is priced at around P3,800, depending on the health facility.