OVP touts program beneficiaries in first 100 days

MANILA, Philippines — Over 100,000 Filipinos have benefited from the different programs of the Office of Vice President Sara Duterte during her first 100 days in office.

According to the Office of the Vice President (OVP), more than P134 million in medical and burial assistance were processed – P124.5 million for medical assistance and P9.7 million for burial assistance – since she assumed office on June 30.

At least 13,315 Filipinos have benefitted from both programs.

The OVP earlier vowed to increase the coverage of its social service programs by establishing satellite offices, which so far have been set up in Dagupan, Cebu, Tacloban, Zamboanga, Davao and Bacolod cities as well as in Surigao del Sur province.

Aside from the medical and burial assistance programs, which Duterte’s predecessors have also implemented, the OVP said a total of 98,293 people have also benefited from its “Libreng Sakay” program.

Launched last August, the initiative aims to augment the national government’s free bus program during peak hours. The OVP provided five buses deployed in Metro Manila, Cebu, Bacolod and Davao.

Meanwhile, Duterte, who is also education secretary, went around the country to distribute school supplies and hygiene kits to students.

Some 3,220 students in Southern Leyte, Guimaras, Camarines Sur, North Cotabato, Siquijor, Cavite and Abra have received the “PagbaBAGo” kits from the Vice President.

Aside from distributing the bags, Duterte also met with parents to talk about responsible parenthood and family planning.

In an earlier interview, Duterte cited the return of face-to-face classes as a major accomplishment in her first 100 days in office.

“It is very important that we were able to return the option to conduct five-day in-person classes. We have schools that do that right now because they saw that it is easier to teach if we have five-day in-person classes,” she told reporters in Filipino last Thursday.

Over the past three months, the Vice President has been criticized over various issues, including the inclusion of confidential funds in the proposed 2023 budget of the OVP and the Department of Education.

Her birthday greeting to President Marcos last month – which included a mention about her use of the presidential chopper – also drew flak online, while a video greeting spoken in Mandarin went viral.

Education stakeholders have questioned some of her policies, such as the mandatory face-to-face classes starting Nov. 2 and her opposition to calls for substantial salary increase for teachers.