MANILA – Even before being elected to the second-highest position in the land, Vice President Leni Robredo has always advocated for the most marginalized sector of our society. In just 100 days in office, the Vice President has visited some of our poorest communities, from Mangyan settlements in Mindoro to the agricultural town of Sumilao in Bukidnon. In these places, she personally witnessed the effects of poverty on our people.
In an effort to uplift the quality of life of the poor, Robredo worked with various local government units, private organizations, and other stakeholders to stage the Partnerships Against Poverty Summit.
The event which was held early October at the SMX Convention Center was organized by the Office of the Vice President. TeamAsia, one of the country’s leading integrated marketing communication agencies, provided the onsite event management of the Partnerships Against Poverty Summit. The agency also served as a consultant regarding the program design and the staging of the Summit.
The Vice President spearheaded the discussion of her office’s anti-poverty framework called Angat Buhay, a program that aims to improve the quality life of all Filipinos. The event also saw close to 600 pledges gathered to aid for nutrition and food security; universal healthcare; education; rural development; and women empowerment.
“In the last 100 days, I sought to meet many of the faces of poverty, driven by the need to understand its nationwide scope and how best to address our people’s needs. Our trips were an exercise in not getting lost in the numbers. Our poor work very hard. But inefficiencies and barriers make it hard for them to catch the benefits of growth others enjoy. So, instead of waiting for them to tell the government what they needed, your government went to them. We listened. We learned many things,” Robredo said in her keynote address.
Supporting the war against poverty
TeamAsia, as a socially-responsible company, fully supports the effort of the Vice President to end poverty in the country and make a lasting impact in the lives of our people. With this in mind, the agency assisted the Office of the Vice President not only with the handling of the event itself but also through its digital needs such as web development and audience response system.
“We at TeamAsia believe in the tremendous power of working together to attain a common goal,” TeamAsia President Monette Iturralde-Hamlin said. “We believe that to truly eradicate poverty, which is one of the greatest social ills of our country, we need the help of all sectors. As responsible Filipinos, we are heeding this call.”
One of the programs of TeamAsia that aims to help uplift lives is My Dream in a Shoebox, a yearly gift-giving activity which aims to provide poor children across the country with school supplies. The project is jointly run by the agency and the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines for the past seven years.
“This program of the Vice President and her anti-poverty framework is a bold first step to change the lives of millions of Filipinos, and we are proud to have worked directly with her office via the Partnerships Against Poverty Summit,” Iturralde-Hamlin concluded.
