THE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) opened its 45th branch office on June 22 in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, as part of the charity agency’s commitment to widen public access to its services and products.
With me to inaugurate the new office were PCSO directors Betty B. Nantes, Mabel V. Mamba and Francisco G. Joaquin III, along with Assistant General Manager for Branch Operations Remeliza M. Gabuyo and other PCSO personnel.
We were welcomed to Ozamiz City by Mayor Reynaldo O. Parojinog Sr., Vice Mayor Nova Princess E. Parojinog-Echavez and other local government unit (LGU) officials and employees.
The new branch office, headed by Pilarcita Florentes, is at the bus terminal in Barangay Aguada, and is very accessible to people from all over the province and nearby areas.
When my fellow PCSO directors and I came into the agency in 2010 at the start of the Aquino administration, there were only 25 branches nationwide. After a careful needs-analysis and resources assessment, we determined we could feasibly set ourselves a medium-to long-term goal of setting up a branch in every province.
We began expanding the branch network in 2012 and, in just three years, we are close to doubling the original number of branches.
More are scheduled to open in the coming months, because we are committed to opening seven new branches this year as part of our 2015 operational targets as negotiated with the Governance Commission for government-owned and -controlled corporations. We have already formally opened four so far this year and soft-opened one in San Jose, Mindoro Occidental, last week.
While in Ozamiz, we also turned over 15 ambulances to three provinces in the area: seven to Misamis Occidental (Ozamiz City and the municipalities of Bonifacio, Clarin, Concepcion, Lopez Jaena, Panaon and Sapang Dalaga); six to Misamis Oriental (Claveria, JR Borja, Libertad, Naawan, Talisayan and Villanueva); and two to Bukidnon (Cabanglasan and Valencia City).
The ambulances were donated to the LGUs under the PCSO’s Ambulance Donation Program, which provides that LGUs and institutions may request ambulances from the PCSO every five years under either a cost-sharing or outright-donation scheme, depending on the class of the municipality or city.
Ambulance conductions of patients using PCSO-donated ambulances are supposed to be free of charge, and it is up to the donee LGU or institution (hospital, clinic or other) to maintain, service, fuel and operate the vehicle for the benefit of the area’s residents.
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WE gave more ambulances away last Friday (June 26), this time in San Fernando, Pampanga, where we were met at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center by Gov. Lilia G. Pineda.
Pineda led the turnover ceremony, which was well-attended by the province’s barangay health workers and other employees, who were there also for a Department of Health DOH seminar on infectious diseases held right after the turnover.
PCSO directors Nantes, Mamba and Joaquin were also with me on this occasion to donate eight ambulances to district hospitals: Domingo B. Flores District Hospital in Macabebe; San Luis District Hospital in San Luis; Ricardo P. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in San Fernando City; Romana Pangan District Hospital in Floridablanca; Jose Songco Lapid District Hospital in Porac; Escolastica Romero District Hospital in Lubao; Diosdado P. Macapagal Memorial Hospital in Guagua; and Ricardo P. Rodriguez Annex Specialty Hospital in Bacolor.
On June 19 PCSO Director Bem Noel, with Leyte Gov. Leopoldo Dominico L. Petilla, also presided over an ambulance turnover ceremony at the Leyte Provincial Capitol in Tacloban City.
On that occasion, the PCSO gave 39 ambulances to 37 municipalities, one city and one association in that region (Region 8) that was badly devastated by Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) in November 2013.
Not only that, the PCSO lent two weeks ago to the DOH 36 ambulances for the 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. There are forthcoming Apec events to be held in Manila in July, August and September, and elsewhere in the Philippines in the coming months. From November 4 to 19, Manila will host nine major Apec events, including the CEO Summit that will be attended by dignitaries from around the world. The PCSO ambulances will serve as standby emergency vehicles for these occasions.
The PCSO’s Ambulance Donation Program is benefiting our kababayan around the country and this is because the agency implements good governance, prudent stewardship of resources, and reform initiatives as it walks the matuwid na daan.
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Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II is vice chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.