MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The office of Vice President Leni Robredo and the Quezon City government partnered to launch an app to help market vendors sell online and have their goods delivered by tricycle drivers. 

In her weekly radio show on Sunday, May 10, Robredo said the online platform would be a means to give aid to market vendors and tricycle drivers affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

On Monday, May 11, Robredo said in a Facebook post that the app’s official name is Community Mart and it is downloadable from the App Store and Google Play.

The goal was to set up an online platform where customers can order the goods from a certain market, which would then be delivered to the buyer by a tricycle driver.

“‘Di ba marami sa ating bumibili online, pinapa-deliver? Pero ang problema, Ka Ely, iyong mga maliliit na vendors kasi wala silang access sa online platforms,” Robredo told her co-anchor Ely Saludar.

(A lot of us have been buying things online to have them delivered to us, right? But the problem, Ka Ely, is that small vendors do not have access to online platforms.)

“In partnership with the Quezon City government, ang ginagawa ng opisina natin ngayon: papaano tayo magpo-provide ng online platforms doon sa mga maliliit na mga nagtitinda sa palengke?” added the Vice President. 

(In partnership with the Quezon City government, this is what our office is doing right now: How are we going to provide online platforms for small vendors in the markets?)

A pilot run was conducted at the Kamuning Market on Saturday, May 9.

The Vice President said Community Mart will now service barangays Kamuning, Mariana, Obrero, Sacred Heart, Laging Handa, Pinagkaisahan, South Triangle, Paligsahan, and Roxas District in Quezon City.

Same-day delivery is available, but there will be a 12 pm cut-off for orders. Orders made past 12 pm will be delivered the next day.

Cash on delivery is the mode of payment available for now.

The Vice President clarified that only small-time market vendors would be included in the program. Small businesses are among those severely hit by the COVID-19 crisis, with millions of workers out of jobs.

“Hindi siya kompetisyon sa mga existing na online markets na kasi ito naman ay ang kasali lang dito iyong maliliit. Bawal ditong sumali iyong malalaki,” Robredo said.

(This is not about competing with existing online markets because only small-time vendors will be part of this. The big companies cannot join this.)

She then thanked Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and the latter’s staff for agreeing to partner with the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for the project.

This is the latest assistance the OVP is extending to Filipinos in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. (READ: ‘Not the time to keep score’: Robredo focuses on frontliners, not politics)

The OVP raised more than P122 million in the past weeks to purchase personal protective equipment, food and care packages, and medical supplies for frontliners. Robredo’s office also donated millions of pesos worth of testing kits as well as partnered with donors to provide free dormitories and a shuttle service for medical professionals.

To date, the Philippines has recorded 10,794 cases of COVID-19, 719 of which were fatal. Out of the total, 1,924 patients have recovered. – Rappler.com