PCSO welcomes ex-judge Reyes as new board chair

MANILA – The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Thursday welcomed the appointment of retired Marikina Regional Trial Court Judge Felix Reyes as its new board chairperson.

In a statement, PCSO general manager Mel Robles said Reyes' long and sterling record in government service would surely help propel the PCSO to greater heights in fulfilling its mandate to provide much-needed medical and other forms of assistance to more people, including those living in far-flung provinces.

"This is (the) dawning of a new era at PCSO, and the entire agency is looking forward to working with Chairman Reyes," said Robles.

Meanwhile, Reyes highlighted the need to expand the scope and reach of assistance that the PCSO would give to the poor by tapping the services of their branch offices.

He explained that to achieve this goal, there is a need to improve connectivity and communication between the PCSO central office and its branch offices so that the latter could immediately relay requests for assistance that they were receiving in their respective areas.

Reyes also expressed his desire to increase the annual revenue of the PCSO, “so that they could contribute more to the Bureau of Treasury and extend assistance to more poor people”.

Reyes noted that they could increase the current target revenue of PHP60 billion for this year to as much as PHP78 billion by next year, and even PHP100 billion in the next two years if they could introduce more betting platforms while using new technology.

“There is a good chance that we could attain those target revenue, especially with the introduction of new games and with the use of modern technology. We should not rely on fixed terminals anymore, but also utilize technology in our betting platforms,” he added.

The PCSO, meanwhile, is awaiting approval from the Office of the President on E-Lotto operations and is looking to add other platforms for their games.

Reyes also intends to correct the misimpression created by recent Senate investigations on the operations of PCSO.

He then reiterated an earlier invitation of the agency to the lawmakers to witness and observe for themselves the actual process of draws for them to come up with objective recommendations.

As a lawyer and former judge, Reyes also vowed that all the actions of the PCSO would be within the bounds of the law.

He also vowed to help resolve all legal battles being faced by the state lottery agency. (PNA)