By Jel Santos
The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Tuesday announced the temporary suspension of the operations of Lotto, Digit Games, and Keno in the whole country, and Small Town Lottery (STL) in Luzon effective today, March 17, following the rise of confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVI-19) cases.
This was announced by PCSO General Manager Royina Marzan-Garman during a live on the official PCSO Facebook page.
She also announced the halt of the operation of PCSO at the Lung Center of the –Philippines starting March 18.
“We have designated hotlines that will cater to people asking for assistance. They are 09457746439, 09152962243, and 09177035866. Landline: 0284043956. E-mail: [email protected],” Garma said.
“Those asking for assistance will be referred to hospitals with Malasakit Center and other government hospitals,” she added.
On the other hand, the PCSO general manager said the operations of STL in Visayas and Mindanao will be monitored on a daily basis to assess situations in the area.
Despite the suspension of operations, Garma assured the public that PCSO is always ready to help them.
“PCSO recently approved P420-million assistance to the government to fight COVID-19,” she said.
Garma said that the PCSO Board has approved “today, March 17, P1-billion additional assistance to beef up the government’s effort against the disease.