Sara Duterte: OVP spent P1.2 billion for medical assistance

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) has spent more than P1.2 billion under its medical assistance program to help underprivileged Filipinos with their healthcare needs, Vice President Sara Duterte said Monday.

Duterte said that the OVP had provided medical aid to 106,958 Filipinos from July 2022 to October 2023, amounting to P1,270,973,371.

The OVP’s burial assistance program, meanwhile, spent P130.3 million to serve 22,470 families.

Duterte said that the OVP was able to extend help to more Filipinos through the establishment of satellite offices in Bacolod, Cebu, Dagupan, Davao, Tacloban, Surigao, Zamboanga, Isabela, and Bangsamoro and Bicol regions, as well as two extension offices in Lipa, Batangas and Tondo, Manila.

“Bago ako naging Vice President, nakita ko po sa aking paglilibot sa buong Pilipinas ang pangangailangan na dalhin sa mga probinsiya ang mga serbisyo ng gobyerno lalo na sa mga mahihirap na bahagi ng bansa. Marami po kasi sa ating mga kababayan sa probinsiya ang nangangailangan ng serbisyo ng pamahalaan pero madalas ay wala silang matakbuhan,” she said.

(Before I became Vice President, I saw the need to bring government services to the provinces, especially to the poorer parts of the country. Many of our countrymen in the provinces need government services, but they often have nowhere to go.)

“Kung kaya nung naluklok ako sa pwesto, ninais ko pong palawakin ang serbisyo ng ating tanggapan at mapagsilbihan ang mga Pilipino hindi lamang sa National Capital Region o Metro Manila, kasama na ang buong bansa,” she added.

(That's why when I took office, I wanted to expand our office’s services and be able to serve Filipinos not only in the National Capital Region or Metro Manila, but the entire country as well.)

In July, the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged the OVP for over P600,000 worth of purchases for its seven satellite offices, which it said were non-compliant with the Procurement Law or Republic Act 9184.

COA said that the “immediate establishment of satellite offices without enough equipment to operate led to Management’s decision to resort in immediate purchase of PPE (Property Plant and Equipment) and semi-expendable property using the cash of its officers, which the OVP subsequently paid through reimbursement.”

Other programs

Duterte also noted that the OVP’s Libreng Sakay program had provided free transport service to over 523,000 commuters in Metro Manila, 99,600 in Cebu, 89,600 commuters in Bacolod, and 60,400 commuters in Davao.

The OVP also conducted 162 relief operations in times of calamities and disasters, helping 115,045 affected families.

It provided 23,000 relief boxes, 11,600 food bags, and 438,000 other relief items worth P69.1 million.

The OVP’s “Mag-Negosyo Ta ‘Day Program,” meanwhile, has accumulated over 25,700 members who each received P150,000 capital to jumpstart their businesses.

Under the “Pagbabago: A Million Learners and Trees Campaign,” 64,000 backpacks have been distributed and 178,100 trees have been planted.

This project aims to give out a million backpacks and plant a million trees all over the country before 2028.

Duterte also took pride in the OVP’s “PanSarap Program” which distributed nutritional buns to select students from Mondays to Fridays for 120 days.

“Bago pa kasi matapos ang 120 days period ng pagpapatupad nito, nakitaan na agad ng pagbabago sa timbang ang mga learners na benepisyaryo nito,” she said.

(We have seen a change in the weight of the learner beneficiaries before the 120-day period ends.)

The OVP piloted the nourishment program together with the Department of Education which Duterte also leads as secretary.—AOL, GMA Integrated News