The government needs to stop being in denial of the realities on the ground to address the lack of resources and respond to the needs of the people in this time of the coronavirus pandemic, Vice President Leni Robredo said Sunday, April 18.
(Photo by Jansen Romero / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Kaya iyong mga nagsasabing wala naman masyadong problema baka hindi masyadong aware kung ano talaga iyong pang-araw-araw na pakikibaka ng mga pasyente natin. Talagang nakakaawa (Those who are saying that there is no problem maybe are not aware of the daily struggles of the patients. They are really pitiful),” she said during her radio show, “BISErbisyong Leni.”
“Sana mas alam kung ano iyong nangyayari (I hope that they are aware of what’s happening) on the ground para nakakarespond nang maayos (so they can respond better),” Robredo added.
However, the vice president noted that maybe the reports reaching key officials were full of positive remarks and not a reflection of the realities on the ground.
She personally supervises her office’s projects so she can see and address the problems that the programs face on a daily basis.
Just recently, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) initiated the Bayanihan E-Konsulta and Swab Cab programs. These two projects aim to decongest hospitals and health care facilities.
In particular, Robredo is actively participating in the Bayanihan E-Konsulta, where she receives calls and inquiries from the teleconsult service’s outpatients.
The lady official shared many of the problems of the people who require healthcare through the program.
Robredo cited that one had a lower oxygen level, in particular, struck her: that of a family who had to choose between two members who need an oxygen tank more. They eventually decided to send the oxygen tank to a family member in Tarlac because that one has a lower oxygen level.
“It’s very difficult that you have to make the choice of transferring the tank to another relative because his condition is worse. These things should not happen to us if we only have a good system,” she said in Filipino.
Another patient reached out to them because a parent suffered a stroke. They’ve been to a lot of hospitals trying to look for a ventilator but to no avail.
Patients have positive responses to the Bayanihan E-Konsulta services.
A Facebook user named Mae Cabas shared that they reached out to the Bayanihan E-Konsulta because her daughter needed to get checked by a pediatrician. After consulting and receiving the request for laboratory works, she received word that Robredo herself saw that it’s dangerous to bring her baby to the hospital.
The OVP then sent a home service team that can do the necessary laboratory works on her daughter. Before she even began to worry about how to pay for such a service, the caller told her it will be shouldered by Robredo’s office.
Cabas revealed on a screencap of the conversation that she was talking with the country’s second top official herself.
Robredo has been pushing the government and LGUs to replicate her programs, adding that these are very doable.
The opposition leader said that with the proper budget, the government can expand these programs and reach more people.