Laoag City—Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office General Manager Alexander Balutan reported on Wednesday the agency earned P30.78 billion from January to June 2018.
The amount represents the combined retail receipts from Lotto, Keno, Small Town Lottery, and Instant Sweepstakes.
“We are winning the war against illegal gambling such as jueteng through our Small Town Lottery [STL]. From January to June, our STL posted a whopping P12.4 billion revenues,” Balutan declared during a forum dubbed Sama-samang Talakayan at Linawan at the Fort Ilocandia in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.
The quarterly forum has been a regular activity of PCSO for the general manager to report to the public its revenue collections.
“We are doing this because we want to show the public that we are transparent in all our dealings. We want to let the public know where their money goes and what the PCSO has done in support to the Universal Heathcare coverage program of President Rodrigo Duterte,” said Balutan.
PCSO’s revenue for the second quarter is P6.4 billion or 26 percent higher compared with the same period last year.
The highest revenue came from STL with P12.4 billion, an increase of 146.85 percent compared with the same period last year; followed by Keno with P2.7 billion, an increase of 8.69 percent, and Sweepstakes with P662.7 million compared to only P12.5 million in 2017.
Lotto, on the other hand, recorded a P14.9-billion revenue compared to P15.6 billion last year, which is a 4.57-percent decrease.
“Figure don’t lie and our revenues for the second quarter, which is 24 percent higher compared to the same period of last year is proof that PCSO under the able leadership of chairman Anselmo Simeon Pinili and yours truly together with the rest of the members of the Board is on the right track of hitting its P60-billion target by the end of this year,” said Balutan.
Balutan also credited the Philippine National Police and local government officials for its aggressive efforts in going against the operators and kabos of all illegal numbers game nationwide and allowing the entry and operations of STL in their area, which are instrumental in the big leap of PCSO’s STL revenue.
“Yes, other STL Authorized Agent Corporations [AACs] are not successful in their areas of operation, resulting to failure of remittance of the total Presumptive Monthly Retail Receipt [PMRR] as committed, but just like any other businesses, the first year of operation is a matter of testing the waters,” Balutan said.
To address this concern, Balutan said the agency would implement improvements to have a successful collection of PMRR and it will also revisit the 2016 STL-Implementing Rules and Regulations.
As PCSO revenue increases, so are the recipients and the amount of assistance released under the Individual Medical Assistance Program, the flagship program of PCSO or more popularly known as IMAP, also increases.
For the first semester of 2018, PCSO served 236,595 compared to only 184,907 in 2017, an increase of 51,688 patients served or 31 percent higher compared to 2017.
The agency also released P4,646,597,471 for the said patients, compared with the P3,555,633,572 assistance granted to 184,907 patients in 2017.
“What I’m simply trying to say is that with more revenue PCSO generates, more funds will be available to support PCSO’s various charity programs. In turn, more Filipinos especially those needing medical assistance will be served by PCSO,” said Balutan.
“Remember that with every peso that you spent for buying lotto tickets, 30 cents of that goes to charity. You may not be able to reach your dream of becoming a millionaire by winning the jackpot prize, but at least your 30 cents did not go to waste, your 30 cents save life of someone, somewhere across the country and that someone could be your friend, relative, or your neighbor who was able to get assistance from PCSO,” he added.
On July 23, PCSO is set to implement its 20-percent increase in the prices of Lotto tickets, resulting from the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.
TRAIN law imposes a 20 percent documentary stamp tax (DST) on all lotto tickets. This 20 percent will go a long way in building bridges, roads, and other infrastructure projects of the Build Build Build Program of President Duterte.
“Let us not look at this 20 percent as just an additional burden, but look at it at the brighter side because in the long run, we will all benefit from this,” Balutan said.
Lastly, Balutan appealed to the public for help, to President Duterete, and the government in its fights against illegal numbers games and promote and support STL and other PCSO games.
“With more revenues, more funds will be provided to your respective local government units and to your constituents,” he ended.