COVID-free Robredo visits Rizal, gives livelihood aid to women
After testing negative for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Vice President Leni Robredo personally visited female sewers and wives of fishermen in Rizal province.

(VP FACEBOOK PAGE / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a video posted on her official Facebook page, Robredo said the sewers were going to be the beneficiaries of her office’s livelihood assistance.
The vice president took a boat ride from Binangonan Port to reach her destination in Barangay Ticulio in Talim Island.
“This is my third or fourth visit to the island,” Robredo said while she was aboard the boat.
According to Robredo, the livelihood assistance will benefit the female sewers who supply their products to Taytay market in Rizal.
Robredo also proceeded to Brgy. Looc in Cardona town after visiting Talim Island.
She met with the wives of fishermen who plan to put up a multi-purpose cooperative in the area.
The lady official suggested that they use water lilies to make banig, bags, and baskets to augment their livelihood.
Water lily stems can be turned into soft but durable fibers that can be used to make different products such as shoes, bags, slippers, and mats.
“They said they’ve already been doing it but there is still a problem in the equipment because their products get spoiled when they get wet,” Robredo said in Filipino through Facebook Live.
She added that her office is now linking these women with those who know how to preserve what they produce from the water lily stems.
The Office of the Vice President (OVP) has been supporting various communities and sectors in need nationwide through livelihood subsidies despite its meager resources.
Robredo was in Bulacan, Laguna, and Camarines Sur, her home province, last month to provide an undisclosed amount of cash assistance as part of the OVP’s livelihood projects.
She had earlier said her office has reassessed its budget last year because of the coronavirus outbreak, so it can provide better assistance to those affected by the pandemic.
The OVP has provided more medical assistance, as well as livelihood programs that now include the Greater Manila Area—Metro Manila and neighboring provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.