PCSO to release P447M to hospitals

THE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office ( PCSO) said on Wednesday that it would release P447 million in financial assistance to government hospitals.

PCSO General Manager Royina Marzan Garma said the board approved the assistance to 81 mostly provincial hospitals.

Garma said the financial aid aims to augment the financial capability of the beneficiary hospitals in treating coronavirus patients.

The financial assistance is on top of the P420 million funds given to the Philippine Health Corp. or PhilHealth that was announced last week, Garma added.

She said the money would be used to acquire testing kits, reagents, medical and diagnostic equipment, medicines, and personal protective equipment. It would also cover laboratory and diagnostic procedures and the confinement coronavirus patients.

The newly approved financial assistance would be charged against the PCSO’s Charity Fund.

The Philippine General Hospital, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and Southern Philippines Medical Center will each be given P50 million, Garma said.

The other recipients include the Lung Center of the Philippines with P35 million, and Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Davao Regional Medical Center and Cagayan Valley Medical Center with P30 million each.

Garma said the PCSO branch managers in different provinces were coordinating with the beneficiary hospitals for the required documents of the assistance and the schedule of turnover.

“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,” she added.

“To our fellow Filipinos, please know that PCSO will always be here, ready to provide health and medical related assistance,” Garma said.