MANILA – The Finance Department is studying President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s directive for the closure of all Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)-regulated gaming activities vis-à-vis its impact on financing the Universal Health Care (UHC) program.
“We are evaluating the immediate effects of the ban,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said in a message to journalists Saturday.
Dominguez explained that they are “re-checking” how much the share of PCSO is on the over-all financing of UHC.
He also has no idea until when the ban would be in place.
The ban on all PCSO-regulated gaming activities was announced by the President in a televised message Friday night.
He attributed his decision to ban gambling activities such as lotto, small time lotto (STL), and "Peryahan ng Bayan" to “massive corruption”.
He said his directive is based on “the preservation of the resources of the nation”.
Earlier, health officials said about PHP257 billion is needed in the first year of implementation of UHC, which will be funded primarily by revenues from sin taxes. (PNA)
