Vice President Sara Duterte lauded the “power of collaboration” that enabled the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to expand its services and provide meaningful aid to millions of Filipinos through its partnership with the private sector.

Vice President Sara Duterte delivers her message during the Office of the Vice President's (OVP) Pasidungog held in Cebu City on Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Inday Sara Duterte/Facebook)

In a speech during the OVP’s Pasidungog, an awarding ceremony to recognize the OVP’s partners in implementing various programs, the official thanked government and private sectors, from the business community, people’s organizations, local government units, and private individuals for the changes they have brought to Filipino lives.
 

“The Office of the Vice President would have not --- have accomplished even half of what we have achieved without your trust in the integrity of the OVP, your dedication to public service, and your commitment to uplifting the lives of the Filipino people,” she said during the June 29 event in Cebu City.
 

“The impact of our collaborations on the lives of those who needed medical care, burial assistance, immediate relief assistance, food aid, free public transport, and school supplies has been incredibly significant — and our delivery of public services have profoundly made a difference in the lives of our people,” she added.
 

The Vice President urged the OVP’s partners to face the challenge of uplifting the lives of Filipinos head-on because the people deserve nothing less than the commitment to fulfill their aspirations.
 

As a “new chapter” unfolds in their collaboration, Duterte hopes that their partnership will bring hope to Filipinos and the Philippines.
 

“We are given the opportunity to serve the people and become institutions that would help restore the people’s trust in our government through effective, relevant, and timely public service. May we not squander the opportunity to lead, serve, and lift people up — so that they become part of our mission to build the nation,” Duterte said.
 

“Lastly, let me say that the power of collaboration to make things happen can only be put into play if all the actors involved – if all of us here, fully dedicate, fully commit to honoring our social contract with the people,” she furthered.
 

Duterte described that the two interventions —provide immediate help to distressing situations and provide long-term solutions to social issues—that the OVP live by “aim to put Filipinos at the center of everything we do – where every Filipino has the opportunity to thrive and become participants in nation-building.”
 

She shared that the OVP has received thousands of letters from different groups and individuals across the country hoping to be beneficiaries of its flagship program “Mag Negosyo Ta ‘Day (MTD).”
 

To date, the OVP already has 12 people's organizations, comprising over 26,000 members, who have become recipients of the MTD program.
 

Each organization received P150,000 for their livelihood projects, two of which are the Barangay Habag Fisherfolks Association in Surigao del Sur and the 20,000-member women’s group called Mika, which Duterte was also a member of.
 

The MTD also provided a P15,000 capital to each of 17 beneficiaries who want to start their own livelihood projects.
 

The Vice President said the MTD program is open for fisherfolks, LGBT, women, youth, senior citizens, PWD, tricycle drivers, and others.
 

“Ngunit katulad nang nasabi ko, binuksan natin ang programang ito sa mga indibidwal na handang bumangon, tulungan ang kanilang sarili, at maging produktibong Pilipino (But as I said, we opened this program for individuals who are ready to rise up, help themselves, and become productive Filipinos),” she stressed.

The OVP also launched its Disaster Operations Center (DOC) in 2022 and has conducted 92 relief operations, serving 205,692 families, from May 2023 to April 2024.
 

In these operations, 39,138 relief bags amounting to more than P37 million and 15,000 food bags amounting to more than P6 million were given out.