Typhoon relief operations have nothing to do with the upcoming elections because the Office of the Vice President (OVP) has always been present in every calamity, Vice President Leni Robredo said on Sunday, Dec. 26.
Since they have been doing relief operations in the many provinces devastated by Typhoon “Odette” in the past week, Robredo shared that she only just learned her office is being accused of “doing it only because of the upcoming elections.”
“Siyempre, hindi ito totoo. May eleksiyon o wala, andyan tayo pag may sakuna (Of course, this is not true. Whether there’s elections or none, we are present when there’s a calamity),” she stressed.
The presidential aspirant recognized that people have been posting her office’s previous relief operations.
She posted a series of social media cards showing that she has been present in almost every calamity that struck the country even before she became the country’s second top official.
READ: Robredo touches base with ‘Odette’ victims in Palawan
“Sharing this to pay tribute to our teams who have missed holidays, weekends, important personal events just to fulfill our mission. Until now, our teams are still on the ground doing relief operations. We are thankful to all our donors and local partners for helping us every step of the way,” she wrote.
Robredo visited Bohol, Cebu, Dinagat Islands, Surigao City, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, and Southern Leyte after these were hit by the super typhoon last week.
Critics, however, said she was only doing this because she is running for president in the 2022 elections. Robredo is the only presidential candidate to spend time in relief centers to talk with grief-stricken Odette victims who lost homes and livelihood.
The Vice President defended the need to document their operations, saying that photos of their relief work are “receipts” against fake news.
READ: ‘No agenda’: Robredo says helping typhoon victims is not about politics
The social media cards, with the hashtag #GinagawaNaNiLeni, showed her disaster relief response.
Among the relief response she was a part of were the November 2006 Typhoon Reming in Albay, Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, Typhoon Glenda in July 2014, Typhoon Nona in December 2015, Typhoon Ferdie in September 2016, Davao bombing in September 2016, Typhoon Lawin in October 2016, Typhoon Nina in December 2016, Surigao earthquake in February 2017, Batangas earthquake in April 2017, Marawi siege in May 2017, Leyte earthquake in July 2017, and Typhoons Urduja and Vinta in December 2017.
She was also present during the relief operations for Mayon eruption in January 2018, Sulu fire in July 2018, habagat in August 2018, Typhoon Ompong and Cebu landslide in September 2018, TD Usman in December 2018, Jolo Cathedral bombing in January 2019, GemVer incident in June 2019, Bislig fire in July 2019, TS Falcon in July 2019, Iloilo-Guimara sea mishap in August 2019, North Cotabato earthquare in October 2019, Typhoon Tisoy in December 2019, Typhoon Ursula in December 2019, Mandaue fire in December 2019, and Taal eruption in January 2020, among others.
Not included in the series of photos are her office’s relief operations whenever there’s a fire in Metro Manila, as well as their COVID-19 response operations, which included the Swab Cab, Bayanihan e-Konsulta, Vaccine Express, Community Marts, Community Learning Hubs, and provision of personal protective equipment (PPE), dormitories, and free shuttle for medical frontliners.