Mayor Vico Sotto on Friday urged able bodied individuals to donate blood and help fill the country's blood banks that have been squeezed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Sotto's Facebook callout got nearly 18,000 reactions in five hours. It could not be confirmed officially if the person donating blood in the picture was Sotto himself, as pointed out in the comments section.
Pasig City is holding blood-letting at Plaza Bonifacio every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning to help the country's blood banks. He said people are understandably apprehensive or simply unable to donate blood at this time.
"Ngayong pandemya, kumonti ang nagbibigay ng dugo (The number of blood donors has declined amid the pandemic)," he wrote on Facebook. "Napakasakit mawalan ng mahal sa buhay dahil sa kakulangan ng dugo sa blood bank (It really hurts to lose a loved one just because of the lack of blood in the blood bank)."
"Kung malusog po tayo at kaya natin, mag-donate po tayo (If we're healthy and we can, let's donate)!"
Last week, the mayor pleaded for additional healthcare professionals to maximize their centralized quarantine facility at Rizal High School.