CEBU CITY – The Office of the Vice President (OVP) has disbursed more than PHP1 billion of medical assistance to about 22,970 Filipino families or 119,234 individuals nationwide from May 2023 to April 2024, Vice President Sara Duterte said on Saturday.
Duterte led the “Pasidungog” (acclaim) at Radisson Blu Hotel here in recognition of different government and non-government organizations helping the OVP in public service.
Stakeholders received a plaque of appreciation from the OVP, recognizing the partnership "in delivering efficient, accessible, and responsive public service for the good of all Filipinos," and signed by the Vice President.
“We thank our partner hospitals and other social service providers for the success of our (medical assistance) program,” Duterte said in her speech.
The Vice President reported that the OVP was able to provide PHP150.5 million in burial assistance to 30,120 families nationwide from May 2023 to 2024, much higher than the PHP30.8 million given to 6,175 families in the same period last year.
The OVP, she said, tapped 12 civil society organizations accounting to 26,000 members in its "Mag Negosyo Ta ‘Day" entrepreneurship program.
“We received thousands of letters from groups all over the country expressing their desire to become recipients of the OVP flagship program, the Negosyo Ta ‘Day,” she said, citing her office’s commitment to give every Filipino the opportunity to participate in nation-building through livelihood activities.
“Ang pag-unlad ay nagsisimula sa desisyon ng isang indibidwal na maging kapakipakinabang. Para sa mga individual na may nais na maging produktibo para tulungan ang kanyang sarili, pamilya at ang kanyang komunidad (Development begins with an individual’s decision to become a useful citizen. For those who want to become productive and to help themselves, their families and their communities),” the Vice President added.
Free bus ride
The Vice President also said that the free ride program of her office, in partnership with three bus companies, have already served 735,202 Filipinos from May 2023 to May 2024.
Duterte said students and workers thanked her office for the free ride which allowed them to save.
Her office deployed three buses for Metro Manila passengers and one each in Bacolod, Cebu, and Davao.
The OVP also provided 92 relief operations nationwide, helping a total of 205,692 families from May 2023 to April 2024, distributing a total of 39,138 relief bags and 15,000 food bags to calamity victims, with a total relief aid of PHP6.1 million.
According to her, the OVP was able to distribute a total of 22,311 food bags under its Rice Program.
On the other hand, the "Pagbabago" (Change) C
campaign gave out a total of 186,159 bags to Filipino learners nationwide and planted 266,072 trees across the country.
The OVP likewise helped a total of 14,462 malnourished and severely malnourished learners under its "Pansarap Buns" program for schoolchildren, distributing a total of 1.1 million fortified buns nationwide.
In her accomplishment report, around PHP2.260 billion or 92.3 percent of the allotted PHP2.448 billion for financial year 2023 was utilized for various socio-economic services and programs, as well as other operations and activities of the OVP