MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) generated a total of P63.5 billion revenue in 2018, a sizeable 20 percent increase from P52.9 billion in 2017, as nearly all of its lotto/number games showed noticeable volume and profit growth.
Based on PCSO’s latest statistics, bulk of the revenue came from the most patronized games, the Lotto and the Digit games, which gained 14 percent to P31.9 billion.
Meanwhile, Small Town Lottery (STL) registered a robust 66-percent increase with P26.1 billion in sales. Instant Sweepstakes contributed P1.1 billion while Traditional Sweepstakes generated P4.8 billion.
Only Keno underperformed as it posted a 17 percent decline to P4.3 billion in 2018 from P5.3 billion in 2017.
Also worth noting is the record-breaking Ultra Lotto 6/58 P1.1-billion jackpot shared by two winners from Luzon and Visayas, a momentous milestone that made headlines in news and social media platforms from September to October.
PCSO said a significant portion of the increased revenue made a positive impact on the various charitable causes supported by government. More than 528,190 patients availed of the financial and medical assistance under the flagship Individual Medical Assistance Program (IMAP), an increase of 27 percent, with a corresponding total amount of P8.6 billion. There were also 9,231 beneficiaries in the regular medical and dental missions conducted, a 164-percent increase in the number of patients assisted. PCSO also allotted P35.4 million for institutional partnerships.
Under the charity fund-sharing scheme, STL revenues were divided to cities, municipalities (17 percent increase at P552 million), congressional districts (26 percent increase at P131 million), provinces (35 percent increase at P203 million), Philippine National Police (29 percent increase at P406 million), Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (11 percent increase at P87 million) and National Bureau of Investigation (P11.3 million).
In 2018, PCSO was recognized as the sixth top paying government owned and controlled corporation (GOCC), contributing P2.5 billion to the national coffers. At the same year, PCSO – together with Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Philhealth – signed a Joint Administrative Order (JAO) on Streaming Access to Medical Assistance Funds of the Government. This move aims to facilitate the allocation funds and medical assistance for a growing number of Filipinos through the Malasakit Center.
“Based on PCSO’s strong core value propositions in serving the Filipino people through medical care and reduced healthcare costs especially to our underprivileged countrymen, the institution continues to remain prudently optimistic about the future and will be stronger for the benefit of its stakeholders, employees, beneficiaries and supporters. As we celebrate PCSOs 85th anniversary this 2019, the Filipino people is the main driver for this continued positive underlying commitment to deliver efficient and timely charitable services,” said PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan.