Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Chairman Junie Cua announced the agency's plans for the financial year 2023 in a briefing at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
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According to Cua, PCSO is planning to establish additional branch offices in Basilan, Sulu, and Camague.
This will enable the agency to reach more Filipinos who wish to avail of its charitable programs and services, he said.
Also, in order to maximize and modernize the collection efficiency of authorized lotto agents, Cua said that PCSO eyes on establishing its online payment channels and online lottery application system.
A Philippine lottery system is also expected to be implemented for well-maintained, secured, and transparent online lottery draws.
Lastly, Cua said that a PCSO corporate center is expected to be pushed through in the coming year.
"With this, we are confident that the agency will be able to continue and reinvigorate the charity programs and services of the agency," he said.
Cua reiterated his appeal to lower the documentary stamp tax (DST) on lotto tickets from 20 percent to 5 percent.
Since the DST increased from 10 percent to 20 percent in 2019, PCSO's Medical Access Program (MAP) was only able to provide P5.9 billion worth of assistance to 517,696 Filipinos, Cua said.
In 2020 the PCSO provided P1.8 billion for 250,850 individuals while in the following year, it released P2.1 billion for 272,130 individuals.
So far in 2022, PCSO has released P850 million MAP budget which benefited 110,403 individuals.
Last Aug. 30, the PCSO chair said during the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations budget hearing that the current DST "has practically paralyzed the agency."