It must be a hard decision for President Rodrigo Duterte to order the closure of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) gaming operations last Sunday knowing these are the primary sources of funds for the government’s medical assistance to poor Filipinos.
On Tuesday night, the President has lifted only the suspension of lotto operations but not other gaming operations like Small Town Lottery and Peryahan ng Bayan.
In 2018 alone, over half a million Filipinos benefited from the medical assistance provided by the PCSO.
Based on reports, the PCSO reportedly earned ₱63.56 billion from all its gaming activities that year, ₱18.69 billion or 30 percent of which was used for charity programs. The funds are used for the confinement, medicines, and chemotherapy and other medical procedures for indigent patients.
Based on its charter, 55 percent of net proceeds go to the payment of prizes, 15 percent to the operating fund of the agency, and the remaining 30 percent to the government’s health and charity programs.
But with massive corruption in the agency, there is no other recourse deemed best by the President than to apply police power as basis to shut down the operations of lotto, (before it was lifted), STL, and other PCSO games.
It sure was a difficult decision to make but ultimately, the protection of the general welfare must prevail.
The setback will be felt but it will be temporary and ultimately, some other options like the expanded sin taxes may compensate for the loss of the money for charity.
Ridding the government of corruption remains the more compelling reason to do stop even the most financially productive agency.
