The Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) Bayanihan E-Konsulta initiative is free of charge and can be accessed via free data, Vice President Leni Robredo said amid some comments from her detractors that the teleconsult service is charging a fee.
A statement posted on Facebook from the OVP also said that its clarification of the fake news has no intention to take a shot at other teleconsultation services that are operating legally.
“Mariin pong itinatanggi ng ating Tanggapan ang isang komento na kumakalat sa social media na nagsasabing hinihingan ng bayad ang mga nagpapakonsulta sa ating Bayanihan E-Konsulta page. Wala pong katotohanan ang paratang. Lahat po ng teleconsults na nagaganap sa ating page ay monitored ng OVP (The OVP is vehemently denying a comment on social media that says we are charging for the consultation in our Bayanihan E-Konsulta page. There is no truth to the accusation. All teleconsults happening on the page are being monitored by the OVP),” it read.
“Wala pong intensyon ang ating Tanggapan na madamay ang anumang teleconsultation service na ligal na nag-o-operate sa isyu na ito. Humihingi po tayo ng paumanhin at pag-unawa sa mga maaaring naapektuhan ng di pagkakaintindihang ito (Our office has no intention to involving any teleconsultation service that’s legally operating. We are sorry and we are asking for understanding for those affected by this misunderstanding),” the statement added.
The OVP was reacting to a comment on a news item about the Bayanihan E-Konsulta wherein a social media user said the teleconsult service is charging P350 for a consult with a general practitioner, P450 for senior general practitioner, and P850 for a specialist. The fee allegedly includes the consult service and prescription.
The comment said the Bayanihan E-Konsulta is on a payment-first method.
But Robredo’s office was quick to tag this as fake news.
The initiative aims to decongest the “overloaded” hospitals and provide medical attention to COVID and non-COVID outpatients living in the National Capital Region Plus (NCR Plus) bubble, which includes Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan.
The region is under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the most restrictive community quarantine measure, since March 29.
“Nakakalungkot isipin na sa panahong ito, may mga taong pinipili pa ring manira at magpakalat ng maling mga impormasyon upang makapanlinlang, sa halip na ibuhos ang oras sa mas makabuluhang mga bagay (It is saddening to think that at this time, there are people who choose to be destructive and spread wrong information to deceive instead of pouring their time into more important things),” the OVP said.
Robredo’s office also reminded the public to not believe everything they see on social media.
The Bayanihan E-Konsulta initiative was launched last last week through its official Facebook page. For those who want a free medical teleconsultation, all they need to do is go to the official Facebook, click “send message,” and answer the queries.
The volunteer operators will link the patients to some 500 volunteer doctors who signed up for the OVP’s initiative.
It has since closed temporarily its signup process after more than 2,300 call center operators and doctors signed up to volunteer. The OVP said it will finish onboarding the first batch of volunteers before opening the registration again.