PHILIPPINE Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) chairman Junie E. Cua has appealed to local government units to devote a portion of their PCSO shares to help end the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) among children.
“I urge our LGUs to also use (their) PCSO shares towards immunization so that we can protect the children of our communities from VPDs. Kaya po malawak ang maaaring paggamitan ng shares ninyo upang maituon ang pondo sa mga mahahalagang serbisyo kagaya ng proteksyon ng mga bata laban sa sakit (PCSO funds can be used for vital services such as the protection of children from serious illnesses),” Cua said.
The Philippines remains among the top five countries with the most number of zero-dose children globally, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
But the Department of Health said that the number of zero-dose or unvaccinated children between 2021 and 2022 had been reduced from around 1 million to 637,000. Vaccine coverage across the country, however, is below 60 percent.
Cua said that the share of LGUs from lotto and small town lottery proceeds could augment the national government’s efforts to achieve the ideal 95 percent vaccine coverage.
“Maaari itong makatulong sa mga parallel at complementary efforts, gaya ng pagsiguro na ang mga nasa geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas ay maaabot ng immunization drive (The shares can be used for parallel and complementary efforts, such as making sure that the immunization drives reaches chldren living in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas),” Cua said.
Being on the frontline of service delivery, LGUs could make a great contribution towards achieving the country’s immunization target, he added.
LGUs receive a share from the PCSO’s lotto and STL proceeds, as mandated by Executive Order No. 357-A which requires that LGUs receive their shares from the Charity Fund, and the 2020 STL Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations.
Cities and municipalities receive 5 percent, and provinces receive 2 percent of the said proceeds. The shares can be used for a number of health and medical needs, including medical/dental missions, medicine donation, hospitalization assistance, procurement of medical supplies/equipment, or milk feeding/nutrition program.
Last year, local governments received nearly P1 billion in shares. Lotto shares amounted to P395,224,629, while STL shares amounted to P552,948,639, for a total of P948,173,268.
