MANILA – The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) lived up to its promise to boost the coronavirus disease-related packages of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
In a statement on Saturday, PCSO General Manager Royina Garma said the agency transferred PHP420.585 million to PhilHealth for treatment of patients infected by coronavirus or Covid-19.
At a time when Covid-19 cases are on the rise, Garma said PCSO’s contribution will reinforce the capability of PhilHealth to respond to the pandemic.
“For Covid-19 patients and their families who battle with uncertainty, knowing that the cost of hospitalization is one less worry is a big relief,” Garma said.
Earlier, PhilHealth announced that it will shoulder the full cost of Covid-19 treatments until April 14 and that it will issue new guidelines for Covid-19 packages based on accepted protocols.
As early as February this year, PCSO pro-actively allocated funds to support the government’s efforts in relation to Covid-19.
“To the PCSO gaming enthusiasts, this is your money,” Garma said. “Every time a ticket is purchased, 30 percent of the amount automatically goes to the PCSO Charity Fund. That’s why even if you do not bag the jackpot prize or any of the prizes, you are still a winner by helping your fellow Filipinos through the various charity programs of PCSO.”
Last week, Garma said it is set to release anew financial assistance worth PHP447 million to 81 government hospitals to battle the spread of the Covid-19.
“The newly approved financial assistance will be charged to the agency's Charity Fund under its Calamity Assistance Program (CAP) budget,’ she said.
She said the coverage of the assistance is specifically limited to Covid-19 cases and shall be utilized for testing kits; reagents; medical/diagnostic equipment; confinement; medicines; laboratory/diagnostic procedures; and personal protective equipment.
Garma said that PCSO branch managers in different provinces are now coordinating with these hospitals for the required documents of the assistance and the schedule of turnover that will be held at the agency's branch offices.
As a procedural requirement upon receipt of the assistance, these hospitals are required to submit a hospital profile and license from the Department of Health or shall execute an undertaking to submit the documents at a later date.
“We are calling on the heads of these hospitals to also reach out to the nearest PCSO branch office in their area for the details of the assistance so that they can start planning on how to use the assistance based on the given limitations,” Garma said.
She assured the public that the PCSO would play a proactive role in the fight against Covid-19 and would readily provide assistance to the local government units in the implementation of community health initiatives. (PNA)
