MANILA Mayor Honey Lacuna met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and personally received a variety of donations to aid in the city government’s continued COVID-19 response.
Lacuna was accompanied by Vice Mayor Yul Servo while the others who were in attendance included Department of Health officer-in-charge Rosario Vergeire, US Ambassador to the Philippines Mary Kay Loss Carlson and representatives from the USAID.
The turnover of the donations on Saturday afternoon were done at the newly-rehabilitated Manila Zoo, which had also been serving as a vaccination hub for kids belonging to the eligible population, in an effort to encourage their parents to get them inoculated.
In the said event, Lacuna, a doctor, vaccinated a number of minors who came there to get their shots while Blinken looked on.
Lacuna and Blinken were later seen having a fistbump with a six-year-old boy whom the mayor vaccinated. He also fed elephant ‘Mali’ a piece of fruit.
The lady mayor thanked Blinken, Carlson and the USAID after formally receiving 5,000 test kits, 5,000 personal protective equipments (PPEs) and wash kits for the utilization of the Manila Health Department headed by Dr. Arnold ‘Poks’ Pangan.
According to Lacuna, the city of Manila is honored for having been chosen as a recipient of the donations and assured that they will all be put to good use.
She also cited the USAID, saying it had always been donating to the city and is consistent in being an active partner of the Manila local government in its fight aginst COVID.
Lacuna recalled that the USAID previously donated 19,000 PPEs and 10,000 rapid antigen kits to the city government.
It was learned that Blinken is on a ten-day trip to Cambodia, Philippines, South Africa, Congo and Rwanda. (Baby Cuevas)
