MANILA (UPDATED) — The Office of the Vice President (OVP) has opened satellite offices in six cities across the country in a bid to make its services accessible to more Filipinos, Vice President Sara Duterte said Saturday.

In a Facebook post, Duterte said OVP satellite officers were set up in the cities of Dagupan, Cebu, Tacloban, Zamboanga, Davao, and Tandag in Surigao del Sur.

"Nagbukas po tayo ng mga satellite office sa iba’t-ibang bahagi ng bansa upang matulungan ang ating mga kababayan na magkaroon ng madali at agarang access sa mga serbisyong mula sa Office of the Vice President," Duterte wrote in the post's caption.

(We opened satellite offices in different parts of the country to help our fellow citizens get easier and immediate access to the services of the Office of the Vice President.)

Duterte announced she would open OVP satellite offices ahead of her oath-taking for the vice presidency last month. The satellite offices will initially roll out medical and burial assistance, her spokesperson, Atty. Reynold Munsayac, said. It can also provide relief assistance in case of calamities.

The locations of satellite offices were handpicked for their "strategic proximity and accessibility to other areas or islands." Additional offices can be expected, once the initial six are operating fully, the OVP said in a statement.

Duterte, who is also the education secretary, has said she would continue to reside in her hometown Davao City even though she would spend most of her weekdays working in Metro Manila. A similar arrangement was done by her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

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The elder Duterte also held a presidential office inside the Department of Public Works and Highways complex in Panacan, Davao City.

Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also opened an office in Cebu, called the Malacañang sa Sugbo, during her term from 2004 until 2010. Arroyo took her oath as president in Cebu City after winning the 2004 elections.

On Monday, Duterte is scheduled to attend a turnover ceremony at the Department of Education. She replaces Sec. Leonor Briones.

— With reports from Arra Perez and Wena Cos, ABS-CBN News

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