VICE President Jejomar Binay said Monday his office provided medical and financial assistance to more than 12,100 indigents and distributed thousands of relief goods to typhoon victims last year despite its meager budget.
He said his office will continue to deliver basic services to the people who are in dire need of help.
From January to September 2015, 12,140 indigent patients received medical assistance from the Office of the Vice President, Binay said.
He said the patients or their families requested help to pay for dialysis, hospital bills, chemotherapy sessions, medicines, surgery and other procedures, implants and hearing aids.
“Another 666 clients who requested help to pay for burial and transport services were also given assistance,” Binay said.
“The OVP released P95,120,350.38 or an average of P7,427.80 per client. These clients came mostly from Metro Manila but the OVP also assisted clients from other regions.”
Binay said his office also conducted medical missions in the provinces to reach out to those who could not afford to go to hospitals for their check-ups or to buy medicines. He said the OVP served 40,176 indigents from all over the country in 2015.
The OVP also distributed 88 wheelchairs of which 33 were received by local government units.
The OVP distributed 91,001 packages of relief goods to families affected by the typhoons that entered the country from January to November 2015, Binay said.
In January, 11,700 bags were given to families in Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur who were affected by Typhoon “Seniang.” Binay also led the distribution of 7,500 relief bags to the residents of Cebu affected by Seniang.