Robredo: Shun disinformation vs OVP’s free shuttle service for COVID-19 frontliners

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday warned against malicious, misleading information about her office, which is mounting efforts to provide free rides to workers at the frontlines of efforts to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.

Robredo said in a Facebook post that some quarters are spreading vicious rumors that transport vans who want to earn money should troop to the Office of the Vice President (OVP), which supposedly promises income of P3,500 per day in a “weekly pay-out” basis.

Robredo, however, stressed OVP is not hiring any van for their planned free shuttle service for COVID-19 frontliners starting Wednesday, March 18.

“WARNING: We are not hiring vehicles for our free shuttle services tomorrow. This is a malicious Facebook entry which intends to put our office in a bad light,” the Vice President cautioned the public.

“Please help us report. We will make sure that we will hold whoever is behind this accountable.  Walang sukdulan na kasamaan ang sinuman na nakakaisip pa ng mga ganitong kagaguhan sa panahon ng matinding sakuna,” she added.

(There is no limit to the evilness of people who could think of such stupid schemes while we are facing a great emergency.)

OVP announced earlier that it would provide free shuttle services to health workers and other frontliners who were having a hard time reporting for duty since total mass transportation was suspended under the enhanced community quarantine all over Luzon.

According to Robredo, OVP’s free shuttle service would be carried out in cooperation with private sectors and not with any private individual or entity that would require the government to shell out money.

“The free shuttle service that we will be offering to medical frontliners is through the kindness and generosity of private organizations, at no cost to the government,” Robredo pointed out.

President Rodrigo Duterte has already placed the Philippines under a state of calamity after declaring a state of public health emergency throughout the country last week and putting Luzon under enhanced community quarantine from March 17 to April 12, 2020, due to COVID-19.

To date, the Philippines has 187 people infected with COVID-19, including 12 deaths and four recoveries.

KGA