OVP raises P20-M to buy PPE for health workers in less than a week; seeks help finding suppliers
By Raymund Antonio
More health workers on the frontlines in the fight against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) may soon be able to get personal protective equipment (PPE) as the fund drive of Vice President Leni Robredo’s office (OVP) has raised P20 million for the purpose.
Nine hospitals in Metro Manila have received 7,350 PPE sets from the OVP, with the second batch of PPEs expected to be distributed soon amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vice President Leni Robredo
(Charlie Villegas, OVP / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) “We started this drive evening of March 13. As of 9 a.m. today, March 19, we have reached the P20M mark!!!!” Robredo announced in a Facebook post. The vice president said the increasing cash donations from the public were “proof that so many Filipinos want to take care of our frontliners who are putting their lives on the line to save us all.” The San Lazaro Hospital, University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health, and Philippine General Hospital, all located in Manila, were among the recipients of the initial PPE sets donated by the OVP. The rest were the Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, East Avenue Medical Center, Philippine Orthopedic Center, and Veterans Memorial Medical Center, all in Quezon City. The OVP has responded in various ways to help contain the coronavirus outbreak, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a pandemic. But Robredo said much work remains to be done given the high demand of PPE sets to protect COVID-19 frontliners. “Our list of requests is already very long,” the opposition leader noted. The vice president said there is scarcity of the products even as they have the available funds to buy them. The shortage of PPE supplies may endanger the lives of health workers and other frontliners and weaken the government response in containing the virus pandemic. “Our problem is supplies are hard to come by. So here’s another appeal to anyone of you who knows of suppliers, we will appreciate it if you can share with us their contact details,” she said. Robredo’s office kicked off the fund drive in collaboration with OVP anti-poverty program Angat Buhay partner Kaya Natin! Movement. READ MORE: Entire Luzon under quarantine
Vice President Leni Robredo(Charlie Villegas, OVP / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) “We started this drive evening of March 13. As of 9 a.m. today, March 19, we have reached the P20M mark!!!!” Robredo announced in a Facebook post. The vice president said the increasing cash donations from the public were “proof that so many Filipinos want to take care of our frontliners who are putting their lives on the line to save us all.” The San Lazaro Hospital, University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health, and Philippine General Hospital, all located in Manila, were among the recipients of the initial PPE sets donated by the OVP. The rest were the Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, East Avenue Medical Center, Philippine Orthopedic Center, and Veterans Memorial Medical Center, all in Quezon City. The OVP has responded in various ways to help contain the coronavirus outbreak, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a pandemic. But Robredo said much work remains to be done given the high demand of PPE sets to protect COVID-19 frontliners. “Our list of requests is already very long,” the opposition leader noted. The vice president said there is scarcity of the products even as they have the available funds to buy them. The shortage of PPE supplies may endanger the lives of health workers and other frontliners and weaken the government response in containing the virus pandemic. “Our problem is supplies are hard to come by. So here’s another appeal to anyone of you who knows of suppliers, we will appreciate it if you can share with us their contact details,” she said. Robredo’s office kicked off the fund drive in collaboration with OVP anti-poverty program Angat Buhay partner Kaya Natin! Movement. READ MORE: Entire Luzon under quarantine