Vice President Leni Robredo. Screenshot from OVP Facebook
MANILA, Philippines—After raising almost P60 million from donations, Vice President Leni Robredo expressed her gratitude to all those who helped her office in aiding thousands of Filipinos amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Sa mga nagbigay ng donasyon at iba pang tulong: Maraming, maraming salamat sa inyo. Umabot ang ambag ninyo mula Batanes hanggang Tawi-Tawi,” said Robredo in a video posted on the Office of the Vice President’s Facebook account.
(To those who gave donations and other forms of help: Thank you very much. Your contributions have reached as far as Batanes and Tawi-Tawi.)
The OVP has set up 12 dormitories for frontliners, provided 11,429 people free shuttle services, and purchased 129,897 personal protective equipment (PPEs) and 15,534 food and care packages from P57.23 million OVP funds and donations, Robredo reported.
From the donations, the OVP has so far turned over 7,764 food and care packages and provided almost 100,000 PPE sets to 552 facilities. Robredo also noted that 1,245 locally-designed PPEs were distributed to frontliners.
Robredo also said the OVP has allocated funds from its office for testing and extraction kits enough for 12,750 samples.
“Noong March 19, naiturn-over na natin ito sa RITM [Research Institute for Tropical Medicine]. Sinundan ito nitong Biyernes lang ng sampung libong testing at extraction kit na dinevelop ng UP [University of the Philippines] at magagamit sa mga accredited testing centers,” the VP noted.
(On March 19, we turned these over to the RITM. This was followed only last Friday by 10,000 testing and extraction kits developed by UP that will be used by accredited testing centers.)
In total, the OVP was able to help to 594 hospitals, 45 health facilities such as dialysis centers, 62 local government units, 102 rural health units, 10 non-government organizations, 17 government agencies and six funeral parlors.
Around P6.8 million worth of food was also given to hospitals, checkpoints, and communities while 3,153 relief packs were given to 12 communities, including those recently hit by fires.
The OVP, though, said it closing the donation drive for PPEs and food and care packages by April 30.
“Sinimulan natin ang donation drive upang punan ang mga pangangailangang hindi agad kayang tugunan ng gobyerno. Mas malaki kaysa sa inasahan ang mga pangangailangang ito, kaya’t nagpasya tayong i-extend ang unang April 14 deadline para sa mga donasyon. Ngayon, nagsisimula nang magkahugis ang proseso ng procurement at pag-distribute ng pamahalaan. Inaasahan na rin ang malaking halagang makukuha ng administrasyon mula sa Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,” Robredo explained.
(We started the donation drive to address the needs that the government cannot address right away. The needs were more than we expected, so we decided to extend the donation drive to the initial April 14 deadline of the ECQ. Now, the government’s procurement and distribution processes are starting to take shape. It is also expected that the administration will receive a large amount from the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.)
“Dahil dito, nagpasya tayong taningan ang ating online donation drive for PPEs at food and care packages for frontliners. Sa April 30 ang magiging huling araw nito. Regular nating iniuulat sa ating Facebook page ang talaan ng mga donasyon. Matapos ang April 30, maglalabas tayo ng isang malinaw, detalyado, at kumpletong talaan upang maibahagi sa publiko,” she added.
(Because of this, we decided to set a deadline for our online donation drive for PPEs and food and care packages for frontliners. April 30 will be its last day. We will regularly report a list of the donations on our Facebook page. After April 30, we will release a clearer, more detailed, and complete list to share with the public.)
Robredo also emphasized her call for unity amid the global health crisis, noting that the public should follow COVID-19 health protocols such as social distancing while also urging uniformed personnel to be level-headed when enforcing the law.
“Virus ang kalaban natin, at hindi ang ating kapwa Pilipino. Maging makatao sana tayo sa pagpapatupad ng anumang atas o tungkulin (The virus is the enemy, not our fellow Filipinos. We hope we can be humane in doing our jobs),” she stressed.
“Alam kong malaking sakripisyo ito para sa marami, pero tandaan natin: Buhay ang laging nasa timbangan. Mas matimbang ang buhay at mas agaran ang pangangailangang matigil ang pagkalat ng sakit,” the VP added.
(I know that many of you have made huge sacrifices, but let us always remember: We must always consider human lives. Life will always be more important and it is most urgent to stop the spread of the disease.)