PCSO’s satisfaction ratings

Last Feb. 26, this newspaper published the results of a year-long survey held nationwide by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to determine public sentiment regarding 929 offices and agencies. Of this number, 620 were national government agencies, 302 government corporations and six government funded educational institutions.

The CSC called this a Report Card Survey (RCS) and was conducted in accordance with Republic Act 9485 or the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) of 2007.

Skimming through the list, I was pleased to read that among the agencies that received positive ratings is the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). This is because I have a friend who accompanied a relative to the PCSO Lung Center in Quezon City some months ago  and she was very appreciative of the service rendered by the personnel in that unit. She said the PCSO staff who attended to them were very courteous and solicitous towards those who were seeking their service.

In all, 17 branches and offices of the PCSO were included in the survey, with 14 of these receiving positive ratings. The Lung Center satellite unit was one of the two offices that received a rating of Excellent, the other being the Tarlac Provincial District Office. Eight branches and offices were rated as Good and four as Acceptable. However, there were also three units which failed in the survey.

Another reason for my reaction is the fact that a key official of the agency is a woman, who seems to be a no-nonsense and hardworking public servant. She is Margarita P. Juico who sits as chairperson of the board. Being a woman journalist whose job includes tracking the performance of people in public service, I always view with admiration the good work being done by government people of my gender.

After the devastation wrought by super typhoon Yolanda last year,  the PCSO was one of the government agencies that moved quickly, without prodding and without fanfare, to help the victims of the calamity. It mobilized for immediate action its offices and personnel in the Visayas, particularly in Cebu, Iloilo, Samar, Bacolod City and Palawan to provide assistance to victims in the devastated areas.

If these areas were covered by the survey, I am sure people in these places would respond very favorably towards the PCSO.

The Report Card Survey reflects feedback on an agency’s adherence to its citizens charter which deals with documents to be submitted, fees to be paid, time to finish the process. It also determines compliance with the provisions of the ARTA, particularly the presence of public assistance and complaints desks, the no-noon break and no-fixing policies, and the wearing of easy-to-read IDs or nameplates. Getting positive results in 14 out of 17 surveyed units and offices should merit commendation.

For a better appreciation of the performance of the agency, perhaps there is also need to mention that in just three years, from 2010 to 2013, the PCSO had remitted a total of P10.56 billion to the BIR that was generated through Documentary Stamp Taxes relative to its gaming activities.  In addition, the agency was able to settle back taxes amounting to P1.7 billion that were left unpaid by former officials.

According to Juico, the present board adopted a policy after it assumed office in July 2010 to prioritize and speed up payment of all taxes due the government.

The policy, Juico said, is intended to augment the funds for the priority health and welfare reform programs of the National Government. According to her, the payment of these taxes was achieved by implementing measures that reduced  operating expenses and maximizing profitability. The total of P12.26 billion remitted to the BIR does not include income taxes, real property taxes and other tax obligations to the government.

“Hence, we must be very judicious in handling the money that came from the public’s support and patronage of our gaming activities. This is very critical in maintaining public trust, without which our operation cannot succeed, and our health and social welfare programs will grind to a halt,” the PCSO official said.

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For one  reason or another,  the Filipino Portrait Artists Group, Inc. (FPAG) invited me to sit for a portrait-painting   session at the UP Executive House inside the UP Diliman campus last year.  I felt very flattered, and nervous, too, as I was the center of undivided attention of 17  of the finest artists in the country. I was made to sit still, not move too much, maintain the same position for more than two hours, with brief pauses. Let me say I was glad I wasn’t painted in the nude. Each of the  portraits (some in pastels, others in water color and charcoal)  of me was different; one had my profile (with my distinctive pug nose and pouting lips), a number had me staring seriously at a painting on the wall (I think it was by Menchu Pascual, the lovely, energetic UP president’s spouse),  a couple made me look stunning. All the portraits were given to me as gifts, mind you. If you visit my house, you’ll see the framed paintings that I alternately hang on my walls. I’m so fortunate to have been asked to pose for well-known artists. Of course, to show my appreciation, I devoted a whole column to the artist’s guild, headed by Romy Carlos.

You too, can have your portrait done by the FPAGI members, for a minimal fee, but for a high purpose.

The FPAG is partnering this time with the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) in a fund-raising project called “Portraits for Yolanda,” for the benefit of UP students from the Leyte-Samar provinces devastated by the super typhoon.

 The project had its maiden session on Feb. 20 at the Executive House, with the first sitter/model in the person of 90-year-old Madame Eliza Lazaro Jimenez, mother of Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) founding chair Dante L. Jimenez and CenPEG Executive Director Evita Jimenez.

In the UPAA-FPAGI partnership, sitters (models) pose in the weekly sketching sessions of FPAGI. Each sitter/model makes a donation of P50,000  of which P40,000  goes to the UPAA for the typhoon victims and P10,000  to FPAGI for expenses.  

Each sketching session lasts three hours, with rest periods of ten minutes every 30 minutes. The model may wear a costume of his or her choice. In return for his or her donation, the sitter/model gets all the sketches in pastel (at least 12 15”x20” pieces) done by the FPAGI artists.

The Executive House venue is being generously provided free of charge by the office of UP President Alfredo E. Pascual. Some of the participating FPAGI artists are:  Mardy Aguilar, Donat Alvarez, Don Artificio, Pablo Baen Santos, Cee Cadid, Romy Carlos, Carlos Castro, Cris Cruz,  Tessie Duldulao, Ben Infante, Ed Lantin, Rellie Liwag, Norlie Meimban, Peter Ng,  Keith Paras, Jonah Salvosa,  Pyt Santiago,  Bing Siochi, Mike Velasco,  Ana Vergel, Rick de Villa, Lita Wells. 

Readers and their family members, friends, and associates are invited help with the fund-raising for the Yolanda victims by sitting as models.    

Interested donors may contact UPAA Executive Director and concurrent FPAGI President Romy Carlos at the UPAA office in Ang Bahay ng Alumni at R. Magsaysay Ave., UP Diliman campus, tel. nos. 920-6868, 9206871, and 9206875.

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Email: [email protected]