MANILA, Philippines – In an effort to bring services closer to the people, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has opened 25 new branches nationwide.
PCSO general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II said yesterday that the opening of the Masbate branch last month brought to 50 the total number of the agency’s branches nationwide.
Rojas said PCSO began opening new branches in 2012, with the aim of establishing one in every province.
“Before we expanded our services, applicants for PCSO services and products in certain areas had to travel to Metro Manila or to the province nearest to them where a branch was located. This entailed additional effort and expenses,” he said.
To cut cost, the agency joined hands with local government units (LGUs), which allocated spaces for PCSO offices in their government buildings and paved the way for the opening of more branches.
A majority of the LGUs were interested and even helped refurbish the spaces they provided.
Rojas said should it be feasible to continue the branch expansion at the present rate, a PCSO office could be established in 75 of 81 provinces by the end of 2018 or middle of 2019.