Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday, March 23, welcomed the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc for allowing the resumption of some of the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) Covid-19 response initiatives.
“We thank the COMELEC en banc for their action on the OVP's request. This will ensure that Angat Buhay projects which have helped hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in the past six years can continue to bring hope to communities all over the Philippines,” Robredo’s spokesman Barry Gutierrez said.
The go-signal was a long-time coming after Robredo herself filed for an exemption request shortly after the start of the official campaign period on Feb. 8.
Some Angat Buhay programs will be exempted from the public works and fund disbursements ban during the campaign period, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said.
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The OVP earlier asked for the Bayanihan E-Konsulta, Swab Cab, and Vaccine Express to be exempted from the ban.
Most of these programs were initiated at the height of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.
Robredo earlier promised that logos, colors, and the designs of the said programs will be changed so they cannot be associated to her during the campaign. She and any members of her family will also not attend the activities.
Since the OVP suspended these programs, people seeking medical attention on Robredo’s Facebook page were turned away pending the poll body’s decision.