DOLE Affairs ni Rogelio C. Medina

'We should never regret things that we have done', by Rogelio Constantino Medina, Philippine Daily Inquirer, page A11, February 5, 2012

2012-02-04T21:11:00.000-08:00

'We should never regret things that we have done', by Rogelio Constantino Medina, Philippine Daily Inquirer, page A11, February 5, 2012

2012-02-04T21:08:00.000-08:00

WINGS (Women in Government Service) A Close-up Look at PCSO Chair Margie Juico, by Rogelio Constantino Medina, Women's Journal Magazine, January 30, 2012

2012-01-23T20:06:00.000-08:00

"In 2012, PCSO Going Where Neediest Are" by Miko Morelos, Philippine Daily Inquirer, January 1, 2012

2012-01-01T06:39:00.000-08:00

In 2012, PCSO going where neediest are

10:57 pm | Saturday, December 31st, 2011

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) plans to set up satellite offices this year to widen its reach, particularly in places where there is most need for the financial assistance the agency provides.
PCSO general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II said the agency wanted to be closer to its beneficiaries by opening up “more provincial district offices and suboffices, especially in Mindanao.”

This is apart from the agency’s goal of increasing revenue this year to allow more people to benefit from its aid.

“The PCSO will continue to serve the Filipino people’s medical and health-related concerns, especially during times of calamity,” said Rojas in a statement.

“In order to do this more effectively, we shall be expanding the PCSO’s revenues from games and we ask the public’s support for this.”

The agency swiftly disbursed aid to the people of Northern Mindanao who were ravaged by Tropical Storm “Sendong” in mid-December, according to the official.

The PCSO board released P1 million for the purchase of relief goods which were distributed in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities and three towns in Misamis Oriental. A portion of the funds was allotted for medicine for the survivors as well as their military rescuers.

The agency likewise committed to cover the medical expenses of patients in government hospitals who survived Sendong’s wrath. It set up endowment funds in two government hospitals—P4.8 million at Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro City and P250,000 for medicine at Gregorio Lluch Memorial Hospital in Iligan City.

In a yearend report, Rojas said the PCSO managed to generate over P31 billion in 2011 through its hugely popular lottery games and other agency activities like sweepstakes and horse races.

PCSO Sends Aid to Typhoon Victims in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Manila Times, December 24, 2011

2011-12-26T23:55:00.000-08:00

ACTING on instructions of President Benigno Aquino 3rd, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has sent an initial amount of P1 million for the purchase of relief goods—rice, canned goods, bottled water, among others—that were distributed to various evacuation centers in Iligan City in Lanao del Norte province, as well as Cagayan de Oro City and three towns in Misamis Oriental province.

A government report has indicated that 14,026 families, or 300,000 people, were adversely affected by the typhoon in 13 provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

In response to the call for government agencies to assist the victims in Mindanao, PCSO Chairman Margarita Juico and PCSO General Manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas 2nd already instructed all the charity agency’s provincial district offices in the region to mobilize all its resources and coordinate with local hospitals—both government-run and private—in providing whatever help they could extend to the victims.

Additional relief goods—3,765 boxes of packed lunches, 629 sleeping mats and blankets, one box of used clothes, 787 sets of educational toys, and one box of assorted used toys—were also sent on Thursday.

A voluntary contribution was also directed by PCSO management to all of its departments in response to Rojas’ call to help the victims. Contributions reached P111,605.00 and will be sent immediately, together with some more used clothes and more relief goods.

PCSO Sends P1-M Aid to 'Sendong' Victims by PCSO PR

2011-12-26T23:48:00.000-08:00

PCSO Nagpaabot ng Tulong sa mga Biktima ng Bagyong Sendong ni Rogelio Constantino Medina

2011-12-25T19:38:00.000-08:00

Sa atas ni Pangulong Benigno S. Aquino III, ang Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, sa koordinasyon ng PCSO Provincial District Office sa Mindanaw, ay nagpadala noong Disyembre 19, 2011 ng paunang P1 milyon.

Ito ay para sa pagbili ng mga relief good, tulad ng mga bigas, delata, instant noodle, at botelyang tubig na ipinamahagi sa mga evacuation center sa mga siyudad ng Cagayan de Oro at Iligan at maging sa tatlong bayan sa Misamis Oriental.

Sang-ayon sa ulat ng pamahalaan ay may kabuuang mga 14,026 pamilya, o mga 300,000 katao, ang malubhang naapektuhan ng bagyong Sendong sa 13 lalawigan sa Mindanaw at Bisaya.

Bilang tugon sa iba't ibang sangay ng pamahalaan sa mga biktima sa Mindanaw, inatasan nina PCSO Chairman Margie Juico at PCSO General Manager Atty. Joy Rojas ang lahat ng mga PCSO Provincial District Offices sa Mindanaw na gawin lahat ng kanilang makakaya at makipagtulungan sa mga lokal na ospital, pribado man o pampubliko, na maglaan ng lahat ng posibleng tulong sa abot ng kanilang kakayanan para sa mga biktima ng biglaang pagbaha.

Nagpadala rin ng dagdag na mga relief good noong Disyembree 22 ang PCSO ng mga 3,765 kahon ng instant packed lunch, mga 629 banig at kumot, isang kahon ng used clothes, mga 787 set ng educational toys at isang kahon ng assorted used toys.

Nangalap din ng boluntaryong kontribusyon sa atas ng pamunuan ng PCSO bilang tugon ni GM Rojas sa paglaan ng tulong sa mga biktima ng bagyo. Umabot ang kontribusyon sa P111,605 at kaagad itong ipinadala, kasama ang mga dagdag na used clothes at relief goods.

Their Loving Memory of Baby Lopa, by Rogelio Constantino Medina, Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 26, 1993

2011-12-08T03:35:00.001-08:00

Jose Mari Chan: Music Opens Many Doors for This Sugar Baron. by Rogelio Constantino Medina, Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 5, 1999

2011-12-08T03:34:00.000-08:00

My Former FEU Manila Students' Works

2011-12-08T03:31:00.000-08:00

ANZCHAM Journalism Award

2011-12-08T03:29:00.000-08:00

Bulong-Pulungan 1997, 1998,1999 as a Resource Speaker

2011-12-08T03:26:00.000-08:00

Bulong-Pulungan 1997, 1998,1999 as a Resource Speaker

2011-12-08T03:20:00.000-08:00

Their Loving Memory of Baby Lopa, by Rogelio Constantino Medina, Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 26, 1993

2011-12-08T01:57:00.000-08:00

The Savage Death of Marc Paglinawan, by Rogelio Constantino Medina, Mr. & Ms. Magazine, March 4, 1997

2011-12-08T01:55:00.000-08:00

The Story of Emilie Altarejos, by Rogelio Constantino Medina, Mr. & Ms. Magazine, January 28, 1997

2011-12-08T01:50:00.000-08:00

The Actress Nida Blanca Murder Case

2011-12-08T01:48:00.000-08:00

In Defense of Singer-Actor Gary Valenciano, by Rogelio Constantino Medina, c/o Within column, People's Tonight tabloid, July 7, 1997

2011-11-27T00:57:00.000-08:00

My Memory of Director Lino Brocka, by Rogelio Constantino Medina, c/o Within column, People's Tonight tabloid, June 14, 1997

2011-11-27T00:55:00.000-08:00

I Saw Danny Hernandez's Restless Spirit, by Rogelio Constantino Medina, c/o Within column, People's Tonight, July 10, 1997

2011-11-27T00:52:00.000-08:00

Goodbye, Danny Hernandez, by Rogelio Constantino Medina, c/o Within column, People's Tonight tabloid, June 9, 1997

2011-11-27T00:50:00.000-08:00

My Brief Memory of Actor Miguel Rodriguez, by Rogelio Constantino Medina, c/o Within column, People's Tonight tabloid, February 28, 1997

2011-11-27T00:47:00.000-08:00

Popoy Juico Remembers Ninoy Aquino by Rogelio Constantino Medina, Philippine Daily Inquirer, August 20, 1993

2011-11-27T00:44:00.000-08:00

Ephpheta: Foundation Gives Hope to the Blind by Rogelio Constantino Medina, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 22, 1994

2011-11-24T23:47:00.000-08:00

Philip Ella Juico: The Ninoyist Businessman by Rogelio Constantino Medina, Animo Magazine, April-May 2004

2011-11-24T23:44:00.000-08:00

I Remember a Friend, by Philip Juico as told to Rogelio Constantino Medina, Mod Magazine, August 25, 1989

2011-11-24T23:36:00.000-08:00

Dona Aurora Aquino Tells Anecdote about Ninoy by Rogelio Constantino Medina, c/o Pebbles column of Betty Go-Belmonte, The Phil. Star, Nov. 29, 1989

2011-11-24T23:32:00.000-08:00

Marisse Reyes-McMurray: A bowling Champion Counts Medals and Memories by Rogelio Constantino Medina, The Philippine Star, December 15, 1991

2011-11-24T23:30:00.000-08:00

Jackie, Butz Aquino's Little Girl Grows Up by Rogelio Constantio Medina, The Philippine Star Weekend, December 10, 1988

2011-11-24T23:27:00.000-08:00

Thirteen Years Later, Ninoy's Spirit Is Alive and Well by Rogelio Constantino Medina, Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 25, 1996

2011-11-24T23:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Ninoy by Rogelio Constantino Medina, November 26, 1989, Sunday Globe Magazine

2011-11-24T23:23:00.000-08:00

An Interlude with Jockey Manolito Daquis by Rogelio Constantino Medina, The Manila Times, March 17, 2000

2011-11-24T23:21:00.000-08:00

A CLOSE-UP LOOK AT MARGIE JUICO BY ROGELIO CONSTANTINO MEDINA

2011-10-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

Margarita Juico, nee Penson, second among a brood of 10, has been molded in socio-civic and religious activities at Our Lady of Grace Parish Church in Caloocan City. Her father was active in the Knights of Columbus. Her mother, Magdalena Mendez Lagdameo, is a member of the Catholic Women’s League. Both her parents were into the Christian Family Movement.

“We’ve had a happy childhood and we were active in church,” enthusiastically reminisces Margie, as simply called, whose group started a jazz Mass in her Caloocan parish church.

Interestingly, her mother’s lineage can be traced in Spain. Her maternal grandmother, Dolores Mendez, was a Catalan being born in Galicia to Luis Mendez. Her maternal grandfather, Atty. Jose A. Lagdameo, is a Filipino lawyer from Lopez, Quezon. Likewise, her paternal grandparents, Emilio Borja Penson and Margarita Halili (whose brother became a governor) were from San Miguel and Santa Maria, both in Bulacan, respectively.

In school, Margie vividly remembers she was talkative in class, expressing candidly what she observed around her. That was the only time her mother was called by the principal at the
conservative Belgian-run St. Theresa’s College whose social consciousness’ thrust is strong.

There was a time she played tumbang preso with her classmates inside the classroom. She recalls there was a moment they had to fight for the High Shool Graduation Ball. She admits she was just an average student who considers memories of high school life the best she has ever had. She still communicates with her classmates.

Early in life, she has been exposed to helping the poor, the marginalized sector of our society.
“85 per cent of our population is poor, and the Belgian nuns’ mission is to go to the poor, thus
ingraining in us the value of social awareness, involvement and responsibility.”

In college, she was allowed to go to parties, and she became an Ateneo Corps Sponsor and a muse in a La Salle interschool basketball game. Right after graduation in college with a Liberal
Arts degree, she landed a job in BF Homes, Inc. at Plaza Cervantes, Manila where she was assigned in the purchasing department as a Buyer, then she rose to become an executive
secretary to the vice president.

That is where she met her future husband, Philip “Popoy” Ella Juico, a bright, handsome
Kapampangan De La Salle graduate who is a great Ninoy Aquino follower and who was a management trainee then at Banco Filipino.

At first, Margie ignored him. “There were many times na binagsakan ko siya ng telepono at
pinagsarhan ng pinto during our company’s bowling tournament,” fondly recalls she with a gleam in her eyes as they were destined to be paired together in that game.

But, Popoy’s patience paid off. They got married in 1972 and are blessed with four bright, kind-hearted children.

Their relationship with the Aquino family was strengthened during the martial law years,
especially when the charismatic senator Ninoy Aquino was assassinated. When Cory Aquino,
Ninoy’s widow, ran for president, Margie and Popoy were with the Cory Media Bureau.

“Padadalhin daw kami (ni Marcos) sa Carballo Island. Buti raw na magkasama kami, at least may witness,” she adds.

In Malacanang, when the plain housewife became the country’s 11th president, the first ever in the history of Philippine politics, Margie became an assistant to Ching Escaler who she considers the best boss she has ever had, next to then Pres. Cory Aquino. She says Cory was hard-working and never uttered any unkind word against anybody.

She further explains, “Mabait siya (referring to Escaler). She was efficient, intelligent, very kind. When she was my boss, I observed her from a distance. Little did I knew I would later on take her place.”

A few years later, she was appointed as member of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Board. She would be appointed to the same position by Presidents Ramos and Arroyo until she
resigned in 2005 in the midst of the Hello Garci controversy that besieged the Arroyo administration. She did what she thought was right, out of delicadeza.

Now that Cory Aquino’s son, Noynoy, is the country’s 15th president, Margie is back in PCSO, this time as PCSO chair to fulfill the vision of President Benigno S. Aquiino III in establishing universal medical and health-care services available to the marginalized sector.

Margie says the number of ambulances bought by the previous PCSO Board would have made it possible for every municipality to have at least one ambulance. However, the sad reality is that “there is still a great number of municipalities without a single ambulance unit for its use
while there are other municipalities with more than one.”

This inequitable distribution, she says, can be attributed to the unclear policy on the donation of ambulance units. To effectively provide health services to rural areas, the new PCSO Board
adopted a policy to prioritize allocation of ambulance to 4th, 5th and 6th class municipalities under the 100% Ambulance Donation Program provided they have not been given in the last five years.

“The present PCSO Board adopted the poverty mapping of all municipalities as basis for approving requests for ambulance; municipalities classified as 1st, 2nd and 3rd class are required
to shoulder a percentage of the cost of ambulance,” she elucidates.

This policy likewise has made it easier for PCSO to convey the message that the delivery of basic health care is a shared responsibility of PCSO and the local government units. Also, in line with the current PCSO Board’s vision to improve the capability of government hospitals to offer
services at par with those available in private hospitals and institutions, the grant of endowment
assistance has been limited to government hospitals, health facilities and institutions.

In a short span of time, the PCSO, led by reformist Margie Juico, has undergone savings on
operating funds such as rental and utilities expenses, initiating of cost-cutting measures, savings
from PR ads, negotiating of lower lotto paper suppliers’ prices, introduction of other games,
establishment of PCSO offices in all provinces, simplification of work processes/systems
and elimination of unnecessary processes, transformation of the office culture with the strengthening of the PCSO 8 core values (1. God-centeredness; 2. honesty, integrity,
transparency and accountability; 3. social awareness and responsibility; 4. professionalism and
competence; 5. creativity, innovativeness and resourcefulness; 6. generosity and compassion; 7.
self-motivation and initiative; and 8. respectfulness), through a state-of-the-art hospital facility or initiative exclusively for PCSO’s indigent patients by opening the new PCSO Charity Clinic at
the Lung Center of the Philippines.

Not long ago, Margie led the joint PCSO/ABS-CBN’s DZMM medical/dental mission through the Clinic on Wheels TLC (Teaching, Learning, Caring) project at the Malabon National High School compound. She was a teacher for a while, reading the story of “Putot” to the delight of the kids from the Hulong-Duhat Day Care Center. She also attended to the needs of Divine Colico, a four-year-old daughter of a construction worker who had just had an appendectomy and Reiverr Caigoy, a two-year-old boy who had then an imperforate anus.

Indeed, Margie has found that happiness, as Napoleon Hill puts it, is an elusive transitory thing. If you set out to bring happiness to one’s self, you will find it evasive but if you try to bring happiness to someone else then it comes back to you.

“We shall strengthen and broaden our charity reach. We shall go to the sick and the needy,
instead of them coming to us for medical assistance. We shall establish health unit centers in
partnership with existing private and public medical facilities in and around the urban centers.
We shall partner with the LGUs in helping care for the medical needs of the poor We shall continue to recruit more doctors, nurses and staff who process hundreds of requests day after day,” she concludes as her face is illuminated by a sweet, contented smile.

THE NEW PCSO CHARITY CLINIC AT THE LUNG CENTER BY ROGELIO CONSTANTINO MEDINA

2011-09-08T04:17:00.001-07:00

THE NEW PCSO CHARITY CLINIC AT THE LUNG CENTER

BY ROGELIO CONSTANTINO MEDINA

One pleasantly windy afternoon, after a hard day’s work of teaching total quality management subject at De La Salle Araneta University in Malabon City, I came to visit the grounds of the Lung Center of the Philippines along Quezon City’s Quezon Avenue.

It is that place where the new home of the charity clinic and fund allocation department of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is now within your reach, to primarily serve indigent patients and their families who seek medical assistance from PCSO, an agency that is mandated to generate funds for health programs and charities of national character. It has as its vision to be an ISO-certified agency with a permanent office by 2014, providing timely and responsive health and welfare-related assistance in every municipality by 2015.

I must have been dreaming, I thought. But there it was before me – a spacious, comfortable waiting shed that can accommodate many people (PCSO has served about 500 persons daily and has spent PhP7million a day), a refreshing drinking facility, an organized, automated queue of services, a clearer workflow with smiling staff that can attend to your urgent medical and health-related needs, through a guarantee letter that can be promptly served for a patient’s hospitalization, medical procedures and medicines.

Consistent with the vision of President Benigno S. Aquino III to establish a well-defined package of medical and health services available to the marginalized sector and ensure universal access to essential medicines, the new PCSO Management is indeed trekking the right path.

As I looked at the three-storey building with its enchantingly modern architectural design, I was zealously struck – and inspired – anew to use my pen. Together, with PCSO’s Noel Magat, I roamed around to have a feng shui of the place.

For some days, my thoughts were too busy with kaizen (continuous improvement), W. Edwards Deming’s 14 points, JIT (just-in-time), and the TQM foundation (communication, integrity, trust and ethics). Perhaps, the nature of my task as a writer requires freedom from mental, emotional and physical stress and pressure. I know you will agree that the “real well of ideas” is the subconscious, which is the storehouse of facts, observations, impressions and other memories. But there comes a time when thinking becomes clogged, when errors pile up, when no significant insights occur. At this point, a writer stops for the moment and turns to something entirely different.

Now, I was roaming around the air-conditioned rooms, which are all adorn in soothingly green and yellow walls. At that moment, I felt I were in James Hilton’s Lost Horizon, so lovely and serene, that soothed any tired soul and inspired a writer to compose words of wisdom.

As I gazed at the surrounding environment - the breezy trees, the scented flowers, the brilliantly colored orchids, the abundant soil, and hard rocks – everything seemed to have undergone a change, reflecting the glory of God. I was filled with an unexplainable joy and peace of mind in this new PCSO charity clinic, as if a natural sanctuary, away from the rigors and polluted air of the city. All this is the handiwork of God, I whispered to myself, and this was the kind of peace that the world could not give.

As I was walking away from the new PCSO charity clinic toward a street corner, I looked at the sunset for a brief, quiet moment, then my face was illuminated by a wide, sweet, contented smile as I rode a public jeepney and happily waved my hand goodbye to this new haven for indigent patients.

I WAS A CONFIDENTIAL AGENT BY ACCIDENT BY ROGELIO CONSTANTINO MEDINA

2011-08-23T10:36:00.001-07:00

At first, I thought, I would be designated as confidential assistant or executive assistant. But believe it or not, I became a confidential agent, even without a formal training, at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office from November 5, 2001 until June 30, 2004 when then PCSO General Manager Rosario Uriarte, who took over the rein, wrote me a letter ending my services.

Reminiscing those days, especially now that the past PCSO is into polemics over the inappropriate use of PCSO intelligence fund, I was assigned in the office of then PCSO chair Ma. Livia “Honeygirl” Crisologo Singson-de Leon who I accompanied from time to time (before the time she got ill). At times, I would sit beside the driver while Tita Honeygirl was just behind us in the car. I even accompanied her to her house in Quezon City and in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur. I, together with a lady soldier, slept once in her ancestral home in the historic Vigan where my ancestor Isabelo de los Reyes, the “Father of Philippine Labor Union” and founder of Aglipayan Church, came from.

Perhaps, I was the only untrained among the confidential agents that did not use a gun – and I candidly did not know how to use that deadly weapon. When I received my educational assistance for 2002 worth P10,727.26, I used the money to enroll at the De La Salle University-Manila to take up Master of Arts course (which I finished in 2004 through De La Salle Brothers Scholarship Fund), instead of training myself in a firing school. I did not want to use or bring a gun to kill any one, even if, I knew my job was dangerous. I used to hobnob with and interview alleged “jueteng” (illegal numbers game) lords in the past. In fact there were times I would face threats from strangers I have not known.

As incentives, I received hazard pay, rice allowance worth P3,600 for three months, financial assistance ranging from P6,000 to P15,000. My monthly honorarium as confidential agent (with ID number CA-1730) was only P6,000, subject to availability of funds and the applicable accounting and auditing rules and regulations.

For almost three years, I did not do any “spying”, but my work was focused on drafting messages, speeches and letters. Oftentimes, I sent through fax my draft pieces of communication for approval.

And I was very thankful, maybe blessing in disguise, that the old PCSO ended my work as a confidential agent to live a normal life once more.

"Tahan Tahanan Center: A Haven for Kids with Cancer" by Rogelio Constantino Medina, published by Women's Journal, June 15, 2011

2011-06-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

Index to Philippine Newspapers Online: University of the Philippines Library, Diliman, Quezon City

2011-06-04T05:01:00.000-07:00

MANOLING MORATO'S SOUR GRAPING AND THE NEW, INVIGORATED PCSO

2011-05-16T00:04:00.000-07:00

BY ROGELIO CONSTANTINO MEDINA

Former PCSO chair Manoling Morato’s beef against PCSO chair Margie Juico can be summarized in two words: sour graping.

He created a mess when he was chair of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. It was during his time when the charity institution began to deteriorate and found itself deep in a hole. By the end of his term, it had accumulated debts in billions of pesos to the various hospitals, laboratories and other health/medical institutions.

He unfairly denounces Mrs. Juico for transferring the PCSO main office from the QI compound in Quezon City to PICC in Pasay accusing her of spending millions of pesos. He conveniently omits that PCSO had spent only less than P1 million for the transfer compared to the P314 million that Morato splurged when he caused the transfer of PCSO from San Marcelino, Manila, to the Quezon Institute (QI) compound – not to mention the P150 million retrofitting done on some parts of the buildings.

He unfairly accuses the PCSO of entering into a P4 million a month lease contract with the PICC when the amount of lease from the PICC is only P1.9 million a month.

This is also to strongly oppose his claim that the PCSO office can be found only on the 3^rd floor. If he visits the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), he can find the bulk of PCSO offices on the ground floor.

In a desperate act, he sought support from PCSO employees and stakeholders through a convoluted argument that the transfer to PICC would inconvenience them. May I remind him that the transfer would entail a sacrifice from each one, including Mrs. Juico, who lives 5-minutes away from the QI compound and who has to endure a one-hour traffic in going to the PICC. But that is a small price to pay to protect the lives and safety of PCSO employees and clients.

Why then is Morato making all these noises in public?

Well, for one thing, he is afraid that if he did not create as much public noise as he could blow hot air from his lungs, his scandalous spending for the PCSO transfer from San Marcelino, Manila, to the QI compound in Quezon City might surface. He needs the PCSO transfer as a distraction or a preemptive strike. The best defense is offense, as the saying goes.

Morato accuses Mrs. Juico of wasteful spending yet he forget that he himself had used so much PCSO money to publicize himself and bloat up his own image. The “Dial M” show on Channel 4 with Morato as host and Maggie dela Riva as co-host was a waste of PCSO’s money. As a program, it stinked. With an ageing Morato and dela Riva, “Dial M” did not achieve

anything positive for PCSO except to fatten the pocket of its producers.

Mrs. Juico is in the process of professionalizing the PCSO. A move Morato detests. The new PCSO board has come up with a novel program that will bring the charity institution closer to the people. Instead of the people going to the PCSO, the PCSO has recently approved the “PCSO Satellite Hospital/Clinic” program which aims to serve the sick and the poor right in their respective regions, provinces, towns and cities. There will be no need for the impoverished clients to travel all the way to Manila to seek medical help. By setting up satellite hospitals/clinics, the PCSO gives an answer to the medical needs of indigents faster and better.

At the moment, there are already three existing satellites. These are at (1) Quezon City Hall in Kalayaan; (2) East Avenue Medical Center for children afflicted with cancer and other killer diseases; and (3) Our Lady of Peace in Coastal Road Paranaque City.

Very soon, the PCSO will have other satellites in the provinces.

-0-

Although at present, the PCSO has several Provincial District Offices (PDOs), there is still an overwhelming number of patients lining its doors for assistance. This is due to the fact that not all provinces have PDOs, and most PDOs cater to patients of the region or clustered provinces.

As part of the new management's plan to bring PCSO's assistance closer to its beneficiaries, the PCSO will open branch offices in all provinces where there are PCSO operations. If undertaken alone, the PCSO will have to allocate a huge portion of its funds for this project. However, the PCSO is coordinating with local government units for availability of possible offices sites free of charge. In return, PCSO's presence will ensure that the host local government units (LGUs) constituents have easy access to adequate and appropriate health and medical assistance, subject of course to documentary requirements.

The PCSO shall indeed strengthen and broaden its charity reach. It shall go to the sick, the needy instead of them coming to the PCSO for medical assistance. The agency shall establish charity centers in partnership with existing private and public medical facilities in and around the urban centers. It shall partner with the LGUs in helping care for the medical needs of the poor. It shall continue to recruit more doctors, nurses and staff who process hundreds of requests day after day.

Truly, the PCSO has lots of untapped resources that can be better used for programs that have more impact on society. And the PCSO invites us to explore changes, reforms and possibilities with them: on how all of us can join hands in improving the lives of target beneficiaries.