Spreading fake news that her free teleconsultation program Bayanihan E-Konsulta is asking for voter information from patients is “unforgivable” as it seeks to discredit an initiative that aims to help the needy during these trying times, Vice President Leni Robredo said on Tuesday, Jan. 11.
Robredo posted screenshots of messages from a certain 'Francis Clairvaux' and 'Bosyo Juan' alleging that Robredo’s Bayanihan E-Konsulta is gathering personal information about the voters. The posts since then have been deleted.
“Para sa akin (For me), unforgivable at a time of the worst surge ng (of the) pandemic ginagawa nila ito (they are doing this),” she said during a virtual media briefing.
“We do not ask for precinct numbers. Anyone can try our Bayanihan E-Konsulta page. We cater to everyone. Walang pinipili (We don’t choose anyone),” she wrote on her Facebook page.
Even before she decided to run as president, her office has already been helping COVID-19 and non-COVID patients with their medical consultation needs.
Bayanihan E-Konsulta was launched in April 2021 to help patients without the means to access doctors. This is driven by volunteer doctors and non-medical volunteers who act as call bridgers.
READ: Robredo wants to bring volunteer-driven Bayanihan E-Konsulta outside NCR
Robredo explained that nothing about the registration process changed despite her running for president now. The registration process does not ask about one’s political affiliation because that is “not relevant data.”
“Hindi sa pagbubuhat ng bangko pero yung consistency sa serbisyo, may eleksiyon o wala, hindi naman matatawaran (Not to brag but the consistency of service, whether its elections or not, is incomparable),” Robredo said.
The Vice President lamented that amid these allegations, patients are flooding their Bayanihan E-Konsulta page as it gets fully booked within 13 minutes after opening registration on Tuesday.
As much as they don’t want to put a cap on the number of patients they will accept every day, Robredo said they had to limit it to just 400 a day because their volunteers are also “overstretched” and some of them are getting sick.
READ: Robredo reactivates e-Konsulta service; calls anew for volunteers in COVID response
She said her critics and bashers want to “discredit” the program because they know it has been helping a lot of patients, claiming that the thousands of patients they have helped will serve as the “receipt.”
The best way to discredit her initiative is for her critics to do a better program, she added, because spreading fake news about an initiative that helps people is “unfair.”
“Advise lang sa naninira, baka gusto niyo nang tumulong. Grabe pangangailangan ng mga kababayan natin ngayon (My advice to bashers, you may just want to help. Our fellowmen are in need),” Robredo stressed.