The outgoing vice president Leni Robredo announced her intent to continue her almost 6-year “Angat Buhay” program – the project of the office of the vice president in fighting against poverty – declaring that it will officially be a “non-governmental organization project” after the end of her term, aiming to rule out poverty, disinformation, and historical revisionism in the Philippines.
This is what she declared in her speech before her volunteers and supporters tonight at the Ateneo de Manila University during the Leni-Kiko “Thanksgiving Gathering” after failing to clutch the presidential seat in the 2022 elections based on the partial and unofficial results.
Recalling that the program was first launched in October 2016 as one of the projects of the Office of the Vice President, in fighting against the prevalence of poverty in the country–aimed to bind the public and the poorest communities in the country.
“Ipapakita natin ang buong pwersa ng radikal na pagmamahal–ito ngayon ang hamon sa atin: ang panatilihing magkarugtong ang ating mga bisig,” she said, highlighting that the spirit of her then campaign led by volunteerism of the public must not be left behind.
“Ang pinakalayunin ng gobyernong tapat ay ang pag-angat ng buhay ng lahat,” the vice president added.
For the past years, Robredo has been focused on working with different sectors in providing support through her six key advocacy areas, such as food security and nutrition, universal healthcare, public education, rural development, housing and resettlement, and women empowerment.
Apart from these, the OVP has also focused on disaster-affected families, grassroots stakeholders, urban poor, women, and the youth, by mobilizing them through different engagements.
As of December 2021, Robredo’s “Angat Buhay” has partnered with 372 organizations, and has mobilized a total of 520-million worth of resources for 321,001 families, and 305,223 individuals, in over 223 communities nationwide.
The “widest volunteer network in the history of the Philippines” will be up by July 1, 2022, a day after her term ends.