Today (Monday) and tomorrow, I and other Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office officials and employees are in Negros Occidental for ambulance-donation and branch-inspection activities.
This is in line with PCSO strategies related to charity assistance of a national character. By giving local government units (LGUs) and provincial hospitals the means to transport patients to medical facilities during times of emergency, lives can be saved.
Under its Ambulance Donation Program, the PCSO donated 691 ambulances in 2015 to qualified requesting parties around the country, with the long-term goal of donating one ambulance to every city and municipality.
Ambulances are distributed from Luzon to the Visayas to Mindanao. Among the recent recipients of ambulance units are the municipality of Villasis, Pangasinan, way up in Northern Luzon; and Lamitan Malunggay Integrated Group, Basilan, at the southernmost tip of Mindanao.
How does an LGU request for a PCSO ambulance? The requirements are simple, and among them are a resolution from the local Sanggunian (Panlalawigan, Panglungsod, or Bayan, depending on the requesting party), and a letter from the head of the municipal health center that the ambulance will be attached to the local health-center facility.
Fourth- to sixth-class municipalities may receive their ambulances as outright donations. However, first- to third-class municipalities enter into a 60-percent to 40-percent cost-sharing scheme, and, thus, have to submit a certification of availability of funds from the provincial, city, or municipality treasurer for their 40-percent share.
Apart from LGUs, public and private hospitals, as well as government agencies, government-owned and -controlled corporations and state-owned colleges and universities, may also request for ambulances.
Recognizing, as well, that vehicles undergo wear and tear, especially in remote areas, the PCSO allows recipients to request for a new ambulance every five years.
Each ambulance is equipped with a basic kit necessary to safely transport a patient to a health or medical facility: a spineboard, an oxygen tank with cannula, a collapsible stretcher and a first-aid kit. Recipients may add, on their initiative, other equipment they may need.
The 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 to maintain, service, fuel and operate the vehicle for the benefit of the
area’s residents.
The PCSO’s Ambulance Donation Program is benefiting our kababayan nationwide, 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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The Ambulance Donation Program, as well as the PCSO’s other social-welfare programs, are funded by its revenue-generating activities, which are the conduct and operation of numbers games, including the popular Lotto.
It’s likely that by now everyone has heard of the US Powerball game, which is similar to the PCSO Lotto. On January 13 Powerball offered the biggest jackpot in history—around $1.5 billion, or around P70 billion. The pot was shared by three winners.
That sounds astronomically huge, but federal taxes will take a whopping 39.6-percent bite, leaving a total cash value of $929 million. The winners can opt for a 30-year payment scheme or a lump sum, after taxes of $187.2 million each.
The PCSO Lotto mounts up to more modest sums—the biggest Lotto jackpot was the Grand Lotto 6/55 prize of P741 million, or about $15.7 million, in November 2010—but its advantage over the US version is that it’s totally tax-free.
Not only does playing the PCSO Lotto give you the chance to be a multimillionaire, it also raises funds for charity that will benefit our kababayan around the country who need help the most, during their time of illness and distress.
We invite those who haven’t tried the game to check it out. There are several variants: the Lotto 6/42, Mega Lotto 6/45, Super Lotto 6/49, Grand Lotto 6/55 and the year-old Ultra Lotto 6/58.
Our other games include the 6-Digit, 4-Digit, Swertres and EZ2 Lotto. PCSO outlets also sell Scratch It! and Kas-Cash scratch cards for instant wins, and some have Lotto Express (keno) monitors.
The PCSO extends its heartfelt thanks to all the loyal Lotto players who, through their buying of tickets, have supported PCSO programs throughout the years, from the Ambulance Donation Program to the flagship Individual Medical Assistance Program. You are truly the PCSO’s partners in charity!
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Atty. Rojas is vice chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.