The Armed Forces of the Philippines formally received checks amounting to P85,946,975 from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Monday.
The donation is under the PCSO’s AFP/PNP Health Capability Program, military public affairs office chief Col. Noel Detoyato said.
The turnover of the checks took place at the PCSO Conservatory Building, Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City.
Detoyato said the money will be distributed to eight selected AFP military treatment facilities.
“On behalf of the whole AFP, we humbly accept this donation through the benevolent initiative of Mr. Anselmo Simeon Pinili, Chairman of PCSO and (former general manager) Maj. Gen. Alexander Balutan (Ret). Thank you for acknowledging the hardships of our soldiers and for easing our struggles through your own simple way,” AFP Chief-of-Staff Benjamin Madrigal Jr. said in his speech read by Rear Admiral Jande S. Francisco, Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications, Electronics and Information Systems Service AFP.
The collaboration between the PCSO, the AFP, and the PNP started in 2018 with the mission to improve the capabilities of our military and police medical facilities to enable them to provide quality health care services to its mandated and expanded clientele.
The PCSO has always been ready to assist the AFP through donations in times of calamities. They also delivered medicines and bottled water to evacuation centers in Marawi and Iligan City back in 2017. In the same year, they donated P102 million for the upgrade of medical facilities, and another P1 million as additional funding for the scholar-dependents of AFP personnel through the AFP Educational Benefit System Office.
In 2018, the PCSO donated P5 million worth of endowment fund to the Veterans Medical Center in Quezon City, aside from other programs.
“Today, we are again fortunate and truly grateful in receiving the PCSO donation intended for the capability upgrade of selected AFP medical treatment facilities,” Madrigal said.
“These acts of generosity shall continuously serve as motivation and inspiration for our troops to carry on with our mission of protecting the people and our nation,” he added.