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This year, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is celebrating an important milestone its 0th anniversary. Created by Congress in , it was established as a government venture for raising funds for the promotion of public health and the general welfare through the conduct of sweepstakes draws. The PCSO is the only Philippine government-owned and -controlled corporation that engages in mass-based lottery games, as authorized by law. It has grown from being a small organization funded by a 2 ,000 or P2 0,000 loan from the National Treasury into what is now a multi-billion peso gaming enterprise, currently with branches and more than ,000 retail agents in all regions of the country.

In the first 60 years of its operation, the PCSO was sustained by sales of its ubi uitous Sweepstakes ticket, for which draws were held at the end of each week. In , it launched the “Philippine Lottery,” its active and online gaming platform, more commonly known as the “Lotto.” From then on, variations of its online and traditional lottery games have been introduced, with draws held daily, and each contributing to the achievement of its year-on-year record-high sales.

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In the Philippines, especially in most recent years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has oftentimes been defined as the “business of giving back.” Private enterprises are determined to weave-in CSR into their “business DNA,” and most have been passionately working to achieve their triple bottom line. We at PCSO share the determination and passion of the business community in endeavoring to make this part of the world a better place to live in. We, however, take a fairly different approach to fulfilling our CSR.

Private companies “give back” to the community as their expression of gratitude for the “benefits” reaped by their businesses. They channel back part of their profits to the community where they do business, funding projects which in turn benefit these communities, thereby assuming a “philanthropic” role.

We at PCSO believe that we take on a different role, that of “stewardship.” As a company and as a government agency, the PCSO does not derive any direct benefit from doing business in the community in the form of “profit”, in the strictest sense of the word. Instead, we are the “medium” through which revenues generated from the sales of our online and traditional gaming products are translated and apportioned into prize dividends paid out to winners, funds for charitable undertakings, and resources for the agency’s operational expenses, pursuant to our mandate.

With our role as “stewards” of funds from revenues generated through our gaming products, we see ourselves to be in a very apt position to offer both a personal and an altruistic value proposition to our gaming clientele — that is, for every ticket one person purchases for PCSO’s products, that person gets the chance to win and also shares in PCSO’s mission to help

Chairperson, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office those most in need in our society. The act of purchasing the ticket is thus not only an act of “self-service,” but becomes an act of “kindness.” Those acts of kindness shown by our countless Lotto and Sweepstakes patrons over the years we “pay forward” to the thousands upon thousands of people and institutions seeking assistance from PCSO. Hence, this defines our CSR the “business of paying it forward,” helping people help other people through gaming, which is very much ingrained in our business DNA.

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In most recent years, PCSO has transformed its “business of paying it forward.” This transformation is anchored on three important aspects Integrity, Sustainability and alues. Allow me to briefly elaborate on these.

Good governance, or the prudent use of power, is the rallying point of the transformation. The mandate that was given by the administration of President Benigno S. A uino III is that of “change” — transforming the government from being self-serving into one that works for the welfare of the nation.

The PCSO heeded the marching orders given by the President. Within the first three years of our administration, the PCSO has instituted sweeping reforms on fiscal discipline and cost cutting measures that ensured the agency’s long-term viability. It has significantly contributed funds to the National Government in terms of tax payments, and is strongly committed to settle its outstanding financial obligations inherited from the previous administration.

Moreover, the PCSO has positively responded to the systemic reforms being instituted by the A uino Administration to ensure good corporate governance. The PCSO, as a government-owned and -controlled corporation, is fully committed to carrying out the reforms and maintaining the standards of integrity mandated by the GOCC Governance Act. Concrete evidence of this is the recently concluded rationalization of the agency, through which PCSO’s policies, organization and resources have been reorganized in a manner that shall be both efficient and responsive to current and future challenges.

The Agency is also ensuring the reform efforts of the current administration are well-grounded and shall be carried out by future administrations. This the PCSO does by developing its ISOcertifiable Quality Management System, the objective of which is to make both PCSO’s gaming products and its charitable and developmental services more sustainable, client-oriented and customer-centric, without compromising its adherence to its mandate and pertinent government policies.

The fruits of these efforts have been tested most recently. As you may all well know, the year 20 has been an extremely trying time for the Philippines, including the PCSO. With our country having been struck by one calamity after the next, it would have been extremely difficult for an agency such as the PCSO to capably respond to the challenges of those times hadn’t we been able to institute good governance and sustainability reform measures early on.

Admittedly, we found it difficult to achieve our revenue targets for the year, as those people who are our partners in generating funds for our charitable undertakings — our Lotto and Sweepstakes patrons — are themselves victims of the calamities.

However, because of the reforms which we in the PCSO have all worked hard to put in place early on during our term, the agency has been able to respond to the increasing needs of our mandated publics, allocating close to P billion for its charitable programs and projects in 20 , as compared to P .2 billion in 20 2. This includes the over P200 million that the Agency has specifically allocated for relief and rehabilitation efforts to those affected by the calamities.

Our efforts have not gone unnoticed. The Philippine Civil Service Commission has rated our frontline service units as E - CELLENT in terms of adherence to the provisions of the AntiRed Tape Act, and in overall client satisfaction. Indeed, there is evidence that one shall reap good from where good has been sown.

Inasmuch as good governance has driven the transformation, and sustainability has nurtured it, it is our values — the Filipino value system — that will complete the transformation. Gaming as an enterprise is a very profitable venture in the Philippines, that is why companies have expressed much interest into entering into partnerships with the PCSO for the implementation and operation of its various gaming products. This is the “business value” of PCSO. But PCSO is not only about engaging in the business of gaming, but is more focused on the business of “paying it forward.” Our core values, which are typically Filipino, are what inspire our vision, and are at the center of our mission.

This pervasive value system in PCSO has not only motivated our Agency’s CSR, but it has also inspired our employees and our business partners to undertake their own social responsibility efforts and sharing in our values. During the recent spate of calamities, our employees took the initiative to prepare relief goods, such as canned goods, old clothes and hygiene kits to be distributed to affected areas in the isayas and Mindanao regions. Funds for this purpose were sourced from the Employees Mutual Benefit Fund in which employees set aside a portion of their monthly contributions for charitable purposes.

Our Small Town Lottery Agents, local companies that have partnered with PCSO in the implementation of its grassroots gaming product, have taken on the task of employing a majority of its manpower re uirements from within the communities where they operate, thereby contributing to the local economy. They have also undertaken community development projects such as providing low cost housing to their employees at very reasonable rates.

Clearly, the sense of involvement in the business of “paying it forward” permeates throughout the entire PCSO organization — from its Board and Management, the employees, to our business and charity partners and beneficiaries. Indeed the PCSO has come so far, but working to deliver uality, timely and effective service — our most important bottom line — continues.