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A Woman of Faith, Aid, and Action

Jacob Sangrador
Sep 19, 2020
2 min read

Updated: Sep 25, 2020

Just three months ago, New Zealand, headed by Jacinda Ardern, announced they had successfully won the war against COVID-19, through immediate and swift testing. Taiwan, led by Tsai Ing-wen, is also well on their way to rid themselves of the plague, done exceptionally so even without the implementation of a full national community quarantine. Singapore's anticipative and multi-agency response to the ongoing health crisis, presided by Halimah Yacob, is, likewise, to be admired.

The common denominator between the aforementioned nations and their outstanding progress is its female leaders. No doubt a considerable amount of their success against the virus should be attributed to these phenomenal women.

The Philippines is no stranger to tenacious women in power; Vice President Leni Robredo is a prime example.

In the midst of a public health emergency, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) has remained steadfast and prepared to extend any and all sorts of relief. Just recently, the last 1st of September, she voiced her gratitude for those who donated to her office saying, "Sa mga nagbigay ng donasyon at iba pang tulong: Maraming, maraming salamat sa inyo." The aid she received amounted to roughly 60 million pesos in total.

Robredo, though silent, has been busy during these catastrophic times. Her office reports that they have established 12 frontliner dormitories, provided health workers with 129,897 sets of personal protective equipment (PPEs), arranged free shuttle service for 11,429 people, and used the P57 million OVP funds to send and disseminate 15,534 food and care packages. These are only scratching the surface of all the Vice President’s efforts during the pandemic.

Over the prior months, Robredo has addressed the nation twice as she disclosed concrete plans she has drafted to handle the pandemic more efficiently. Among these was her urge for more systematic and speedy COVID-19 data updates. She argues this is vital in fast and accurate decisions and policymaking. Regarding the numerous locally-stranded individuals (LSI), Robredo recommends free swab testing for all these LSI’s and a more proper and humane system to process and shelter them for the time being. Moreover, Leni has also articulated her thoughts and suggestions concerning the current style of governance. “Government must spend more, spend efficiently, and spend quickly,” Robredo implores as she expresses how limited and insufficient the budget allotted for Bayanihan 2 is.

In the Vice President’s brief speeches, not only does she offer useful strategies but inspires hope among her fellow countrymen as well. Robredo states, “Malikhain tayo. Maabilidad tayo.” The second president clearly has faith in the Filipino population as she speaks with solace. She is a voice of reassurance that the feats achieved by countries like South Korea, Taiwan, and even New Zealand are far from intangible if only we remain considerate of our brethren and acknowledge the virus, not each other, as the opposition.

As the Vice President herself leads by example, we are all called to be people of faith, aid, and action. Despite these times of turmoil and uncertainty, let us do our part in the war against COVID-19. If that means something so simple such as wearing a mask and obeying social distancing, do it.