Vice President Leni Robredo bared her role in her office’s free teleconsultation service even to the point of getting her “hands dirty” to reach out to people in need of medical care.
Sometimes, she had to work overnight manning the emergency duty for outpatient cases.
“Kasama ako sa daily na operations (I’m part of the daily operations),” Robredo said during a recent interview on Teleradyo’s Kapamilya Konek.
“Iyong pinaka-una kong duty sa pre-screening, ngayon nagduduty ako, emergency duty na overnight (My first duty was on pre-screening. Now I render overnight emergency duty),” she added.
The Office of the Vice President (OVP) has set up the Bayanihan E-Konsulta offering medical services to COVID-19 and non-COVID outpatients in Metro Manila and nearby provinces or NCR Plus.
Robredo’s office launched the online platform to help decongest hospitals and aid those who can’t afford to access healthcare. Part of it is having an ambulance and 24-hour medical team to respond to emergency situations.
The vice president explained her valuable role in the daily operations of her office’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
“Tingin ko mahalaga na kabahagi ako ng day-to-day (activities) kasi naiintindihan ko iyong mga kahirapan. Kapag naiintindihan ko iyong mga kahirapan, natutugunan agad. (I think it is important that I’m part of the day-to-day activities so I know what are the challenges. If I understand the challenges, we would be able to immediately respond),” she said.
In her latest count, Robredo noted her office has 800 volunteer doctors and 2,000 non-medical volunteers. Over 100 OVP staff are also involved in the initiative.
“As of our 21st day of operations last week parang mayroon na kaming 26,000 transactions. Ganito siya kalaki (we already have 26,000. This is how big it is),” she said.
Swamped with the big volume of requests, the lady official once again renewed her call for additional volunteer staff for the Bayanihan E-Konsulta service.
“We are in need of more volunteers who will act as Call Bridging Agents between doctors and patients and who are available any day from Monday until Friday. Shifts are either morning or afternoon,” she said in a Facebook post Wednesday, May 19.