By Charissa Luci-Atienza Seeking to assist the government's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, officials and employees of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) have pooled together their salaries and raised over 4 million to benefit a medical facility in La Trinidad, Benguet. The so-called “angels in red vest” have decided to forego a part of salaries in May and June to raise such amount. “A total of P4,035,000.00 has been raised from the bayanihan initiative. The amount committed was deducted from the May and June payroll of all the willing personnel,” the DSWD said in a Facebook post. It said the cash donation will be given to Benguet General Hospital in La Trinidad, Benguet, to enable the provincial hospital to respond to the needs of its patients, particularly those who contracted the coronavirus disease, and its medical frontliners. DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista expressed gratitude to all personnel for their voluntary contributions and for going “beyond their jobs to extend additional aid to those in need in the midst of the crisis.” He had earlier issued a memorandum calling for any voluntary contribution to be used for the government's COVID-19 response. “The collective effort is part of DSWD’s continued commitment to contribute to the country’s pandemic response. It is also a way of the Department’s personnel to show solidarity, compassion, and dedicated service to the vulnerable sectors affected by the crisis,” the DSWD said. Currently, the DSWD has close to 30,000 personnel nationwide.