LAST week the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Games and Amusements Committee (GAC) summoned the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on separate occasions to their respective venues for public hearings on the charity agency.
In the instance of the House, we were invited by the committee chairman, Rep. Karlo Nograles of Davao City, to give an overview about what PCSO is and what it does for the people.
The Committee on Appropriations is concerned with many matters, including those related to the national budget and expenditures of the national government.
PCSO is an agency under the Office of the President and is a government-owned and –controlled corporation (GOCC). As a GOCC, PCSO receives no money for its operations and programs from the national government. Under its charter, Republic Act (RA) 1169, as amended, it raises its own operating funds and funds for it charity programs through the operation of lottery and other games.
In addition to finding out its recent accomplishments and plans and programs for the present and future, the purpose of the House Committee on Appropriation’s meeting with PCSO was also to give first-termer representatives direct interaction with PCSO officials to get to know them and the agency that has served millions of beneficiaries through its 81 years of existence.
Similarly, the Senate GAC, under its chairman, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson, requested PCSO for information that would enable committee members to create legislation of national impact for the benefit of Filipino citizens.
At both meetings, PCSO reported that its revenues from 2010 to the first quarter of 2016 amounted to P191.5 billion, with P32.47 billion generated in 2015 and P7.99 billion in 1Q-2016. PCSO’s revenues are, as per RA 1169, allocated as follows: 55 percent to the prize fund (for PCSO Lotto and other game prizes), 30 percent to the charity fund (for mandatory contributions and PCSO’s social-welfare programs) and 15 percent for operating expenses (such as personnel salaries and equipment, upkeep for the head office and 53 branches nationwide, and the like).
Today, PCSO allots around P18.5 million daily nationwide for individual beneficiaries’ requests for medical- and health care-related assistance, from P4 million daily in 2010 and before. This program directly benefits around 120,000 persons each year, not counting those helped by PCSO’s other programs, such as endowment funds to public hospitals for patient care, grants to institutions, such as orphanages and homes for the elderly, ambulance donations and more.
The PCSO family looks forward to working closely with the members of the House and the Senate to bring its services and products closer to the people, and exploring with them different strategies and options that can streamline service delivery and maximize accessibility.
By these means, PCSO can continue being the government’s conduit for medical- and health care-related services, shared, as always, with compassion and charity.
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Atty. Rojas is vice chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.