Salceda urges PCSO to digitalize its services amid pandemic

Albay Representative Joey Salceda on Wednesday urged the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to digitalize its services to continue yielding revenues amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PCSO's revenues declined from P44 billion in 2019 to P18 billion in 2020 amid the quarantine restrictions enforced due to the health crisis, Salceda said.

"If you digitalize, you could operate despite quarantines. It’s also good for maximizing revenues from small town lottery. If you have a digital trail, you can account for revenues better and prevent underdeclaration of sales,” Salceda said during the briefing of PCSO with the House Committee on Ways and Means.

According to Salceda, small town lottery sales declined from P19.875 billion in 2019 to P5.706 billion in 2020. He recommended to the PCSO to imitate the model of electronic sabong to obtain big revenues.

"E-sabong has a ready ecosystem. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel and the ecosystem is earning big revenues. That is why we taxed and regulated it heavily in my committee. You can talk to the stakeholders of the sector and see what you can learn from them,” Salceda said.

“The e-payment, the digital trail, and the efficiency of win payouts is remarkable for that sector. I strongly suggest that you work with the sector, so we can make the STL more transparent and efficient. I suspect some agents are still underreporting,” the lawmaker added.

Meanwhile, Salceda reminded the PCSO to focus on giving aid to those in need of medical help amid the health crisis.

"That is a critical function these days, when public hospitals are full and only private hospitals are open for non-COVID cases,” Salceda said. — BM, GMA News