Yearender: 2010 historic year for PCSO

MANILA, Philippines - The year 2010 is a historic one for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) after a lone winner, a balikbayan, bagged the biggest online lottery draw jackpot worth more than P741 million, the transfer of the agency to a new office, and the launching of a new campaign against jueteng and other illegal numbers games nationwide.

The PCSO has been operating the traditional sweepstakes ticket draw for the past 75 years and became a household name when it introduced the online lottery, drawn daily over live television.

A new game, the 6/55 Grand Lotto, became popular when two lucky winners won over P370 million last February.

For the next eight months hundreds of thousand bettors lined up in lotto terminals to place their bets on the Grand Lotto.

The Grand Lotto started a nationwide frenzy when the jackpot breached P741 million last November.

The sale of the tickets, drawn three times a week, soared to over P200 million from the average P100 million sales per draw.

A balikbayan from New York finally won and claimed his prize early this month.

Manny Garcia, PCSO publicity and advertising manager, said while the lotto jackpot steadily rose the new set of officers assumed their post in the middle of year.

The traditional sweepstakes ticket, the original draw of the PCSO, hit record sales of P9 million four days before a scheduled draw.

That was the biggest sweepstakes ticket sales recorded by the PCSO for the past several years.

A total of 25,000 booklets were sold generating total sales of P9 million for the special sweepstakes draw for the Foundation for the Blind.

For the July to December 2010 period, PCSO’s guaranteed share from the sale of instant tickets is expected to reach P106,071,428.58.

The PCSO also transferred from its office along E. Rodriquez Street in Quezon City to the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

The year also marked the review of the franchises of the Small Town Lottery game following reports that jueteng operators have been using the STL as a front for illegal gambling operations.

The new PCSO management vowed to start reforms in the agency in to make more effective the delivery of health and medical services to poor patients.

PCSO Chairman Margarita Juico vowed to steer the agency as a vehicle to help the poor.

“I am honored at the trust bestowed on me by the President yet at the same time, I am humbled, because there can be no greater measure of humility than to have the opportunity to help the less fortunate and the marginalized sector of our society,” she said.

She said that raising funds to finance health programs, medical assistance and charity is a gargantuan task.

“We must not forget that we are accountable to the Filipino people,” Juico said.

Lawyer Jose Ferdinand Rojas II, PCSO general manager, said that for the past 75 years, the PCSO has helped the Filipino people through its charity work, giving hope and a helping hand to those who have no one else to turn to.

“From medical care to medicines to ambulances, PCSO shares its resources with hospitals and individuals all across the country, through its medical missions, donations, and other activities” he said.

He said PCSO’s gaming initiatives such as the lotto draws and STL raise much-needed funds to support all these endeavors.

“As we enter a period of invigorated renewal and hope, PCSO looks forward to diligently serving the Filipino people by providing care and assistance to those who need it most.” Rojas said.