Fresh from her disaster relief operations in the Visayas and Mindanao region, presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo revisited her office’s pandemic response initiatives last year.
The Vice President, who is under quarantine after being exposed to a close-in security who tested positive to COVID-19, was not in her weekly radio show over dzXL.
This year’s first episode instead showed Robredo’s various projects during her term, as well as her office’s pandemic response programs.
“Batid ng Tanggapan ni VP Leni ang mga hamong kaakibat ng krisis na ito, kaya agad itong kumilos para matugunan ang pangangailangan at gumaang ang pasanin ng Pilipino (The office of VP Leni understands the challenges that come with this crisis, that’s why it readily acted to address the needs and lift the burden of the Filipinos),” the video said.
Swab Cab
The Office of the Vice President (OVP) understood that to control the spread of the virus, more testing needs to be done. This is why Robredo launched the Swab Cab project.
This project aimed to provide “testing support” to risky communities or areas with high COVID-19 transmission at infection rates.
The OVP spent ₱11 million for 22,000 antigen test kits, which complemented the RT-PCR tests done on those who tested positive for the antigen tests.
READ: Time to speed up vaccine rollout in provinces—Robredo
The initiative conducted 9,757 tests in hotspots such as Malabon, Quezon City, Marikina City, Imus, Tuguegarao, and Naga.
Aside from the Swab Cab, the OVP also allocated P45.86 million for 35,656 extraction and detection kits.
Vaccine Express
In June, the OVP launched the Vaccine Express initiative to “expand” the vaccination programs of local governments.
Robredo brought the initiative to Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental; Iriga and Naga, Camarines Sur; San Pedro, Laguna; Magalang and San Fernando City, Pampanga; Capas, Tarlac; Malolos, Bulacan; Mariveles, Bataan; Catanduanes; and Manila, Pasig, and Quezon City.
This led to a total of 45,896 vaccine recipients.
The OVP partnered with local governments to access its supply of vaccines.
Bayanihan E-Konsulta
During the outbreak in April last year, Robredo also launched the Bayanihan E-Konsulta, a free telemedicine program that helped indigent and vulnerable families. The telemedicine is for COVID and non-COVID patients.
READ: Robredo takes E-Konsulta graveyard shift to handle COVID-19 calls
“Layunin rin nitong tulungang ma-decongest ang mga ospital at mabigyan ng sapat na atensyong medikal ang mga nangangailangan (Its goal is to help decongest hospitals and give enough medical attention to those in need),” the video narrator said.
The Bayanihan E-Konsulta was made possible because of the OVP’s medical and non-medical volunteers.
To date, the program has 4,271 external volunteers and 1,327 volunteer doctors.
They processed 45,990 requests and gave out 9,556 COVID-19 care kits, which were given to COVID positive patients of Bayanihan E-Konsulta.
The OVP also provided medical assistance to probable and confirmed cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) and nearby provinces.
