CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga—The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) is on a roll as it bannered its accomplishments in line with President Duterte’s universal health-care program.
PCSO General Manager Alexander F. Balutan said from January to September this year, the government agency generated revenues of more than P38 billion from its major gaming products—Lotto, Keno, small-town lottery (STL) and Sweepstakes.
Balutan made the announcement during a dialogue with the provincial government and members of the media at the Benigno Aquino Hall here last Friday.
He said the PCSO recorded an increase of almost P10 billion, or 35 percent, over the revenue earned during the same period last year on all of its gaming products.
The highest rate of increase was in the STL at 178 percent, or an increase of more than P6 billion, he said, attributing the hike to the new PCSO implementing rules and regulation that took effect last year “when we entered the scene.”
Balutan said from only 16 authorized agent corporations (AACs) in 2016, the number rose to 92, with 82 AACs operating nationwide.
Among those present were Philippine National Police Regional Director for Intelligence and Investigation Supt. Jean Fajardo who represented Regional Director Chief Supt. Amador Corpuz; Deputy Provincial Director Supt. Angelito Esteban who represented Provincial Director Sr. Supt. Joel Consulta and the chiefs of police in Pampanga’s 19 municipalities.
Also present were PCSO general managers from all over the country, including Pampanga Provincial Manager Maria Lourdes Soliman.
Balutan said originally, the dialogue is held in Manila, but the PCSO decided to hold it in the provinces “to allow our local countrymen to know more about the good job being done by the PCSO.”
In October the same dialogue was held in Davao “so that our countrymen from Mindanao will know what programs have been implemented by the PCSO under the administration of President Duterte,” he added.
“So we are here in Pampanga to let the people in the province and other outlying provinces know what we have accomplished in the PCSO, in line with the universal health-care coverage of President Duterte and the continuing campaign of the administration against illegal-numbers games,” Balutan said.
“The PCSO hopes that with your help, we should be able to bring to every Filipino up to the remotest corners here in Luzon, the programs the PCSO is implementing under the administration of President Duterte,” he added.
Balutan said more jobs have been generated by the PCSO with a total of 268,159 individuals employed by STL from January to September this year, compared to 120,551 individuals employed in 2016.
The individuals employed in 2017 are 147,000 more, or 122 percent higher than the number of individuals employed in 2016, he added.
“These figures tell us that the STL is not only a major source of income for the Duterte administration, but also offers a huge employment opportunity for our kababayan nationwide,” he said.
“We hope that before the end of the year, all 92 AACs will be fully operational. This could further increase the employment generation to about 600,000,” he said. “These are the cabos, cobradores, collectors, revisadors and runners who benefit from the operation of STL.”
Balutan said the workers operating the STL are mostly members of the society, who earn around P7,000 to P8,000 per month, people who will not pass the requirements in job fairs because of lack of education, age requirement and physical disabilities.
“These people are also vulnerable to committing crimes, so if we can give them jobs, we can divert them from bad vices like drugs,” he said.
Balutan added, “In our efforts to make PCSO services closer and accessible to the people, the PCSO now has 60 branches all over the county as it continues to open more branches so that the people seeking assistance from the PCSO need not go to Manila to file their request for medical assistance.”
“We have 81 provinces and about 20 chartered cities. Our dream is to have one branch for each province, especially to the far-away provinces, or those far from urban centers especially in the Visayas and Mindanao, where people still do not have access to hospitals and medical services,” he said.