Vice President Leni Robredo may bring her Bayanihan E-Konsulta, which offered free telemedicine services during the Covid-19 pandemic, to local communities under the setup of her soon-to-be-launched Angat Buhay NGO (non-government organization) after she leaves office on June 30.
During the town hall meeting and thanksgiving for doctors and non-medical volunteers of her telemedicine program, the Vice President highlighted the importance of contributing to uplifting the lives of Filipinos as she once more appealed to the volunteers to continue the program.
“And I can only hope na moving forward, baka puwede pa tayong mag-develop ng (maybe we can develop) something like Bayanihan E-Konsulta. In our localities, baka puwede nating i-tweak na mas bagay siya (maybe we can tweak to be more appropriate) moving forward na kahit wala nang Covid puwede nating gawin (even without Covid, we can do it),” she said.
While Robredo doesn’t anymore want to ask volunteers to do more after running Bayanihan E-Konsulta since April last year, she stressed the need to prove that people can continue helping even with the limited space and resources available to them.
“Parang pine-pressure ko kayong mag-volunteer. Hindi naman, hindi naman ako namemressure. Pero ‘di ba, gusto nating ipakita na (It looks like I’m pressuring you to volunteer. It’s not like that. But don’t we want to show that) with the limited space given to us, kaya natin ma-maximize ‘yung space na ‘yun (we can maximize that space)?,” she asked.
“And tayo ‘yung maging modelo para ipakita sa tao na basta nagkakaisa tayo sa isang bagay na makabuluhan, marami tayong good na magagawa sa community (And we can be the model to show people that if we can unite for something significant, we can do a lot of good in the community),” Robredo added.
The outgoing Vice President mentioned about possibly including this initiative under her new Angat Buhay NGO, which she plans to launch on July 1, after stepping down from public office.
READ: Robredo to pursue ‘new chapter’ as Angat Buhay NGO leader
But in this private capacity, Robredo said she cannot offer the same resources as she did under the ambit of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
Though some of her staff from the OVP will join her in this new venture, she stressed that, like before, she will rely on volunteers to run her program.
“Kasi (Because) if there is one thing that I realized from the six years that was given to me while I was Vice President, ‘yung (the) realization na maraming Pilipinong gustong tumulong. Naghahanap lang ng mga platforms kung saan puwede silang tumulong (that a lot of Filipinos want to help. They are just looking for platforms where they can help),” Robredo said.
She thanked doctors and non-medical volunteers who have given much of their time and resources to the Bayanihan E-Konsulta program when she made the call last April 2021.
Despite the stress and hardships of running the program, Robredo said she is proud and grateful to the team, which also included her daughter, Dr. Tricia Robredo.
“So sa inyong lahat, maraming, maraming salamat (to you all, thank you very, very much) not just for volunteering pero maraming salamat (but thank you) for giving so much of yourselves in the service of our fellow Filipinos. I’m looking forward to still partnering with all of you in our future endeavours,” she added.
The OVP announced the end of the Bayanihan E-Konsulta, which helped over 58,000 Covid and non-Covid patients through its one-year run, on May 31.
READ: Robredo’s teleconsult service ends on May 31 with 58,000 cases assisted
Robredo initialized the program to help decongest hospitals during the surge of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The initiative did not only help through telemedicine consultations, but it also sent Covid care kits to patients and helped find oxygen tanks and available hospital beds for those with severe illnesses.