PAGCOR remits PHP571m to eight local government units

The regulator has remitted the funds to the provinces of Pampanga, Bataan, Zambales, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, Ilocos Norte, Masbate and Leyte.

The Philippines.- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has continued its social work in the Philippines by remitting funds to eight provinces for the upgrading of hospital equipment and local government medical facilities.

Pampanga province received PHP190.5m. Of this, PHP100m has been earmarked for the completion of the Pampanga Provincial Hospital. The remaining PHP90.5m will be used to purchase 40 dialysis machines and a computed tomography scanner.

Bataan Province received PHP102.06m, which will be used to purchase various medical/hospital equipment for the province’s Covid-19 facility and the Mariveles District Hospital (MDH) Imaging and Diagnostic Center.

The chief executive of Nueva Ecija Province, Alejandro Abesamis, said the funds will be used to buy an MRI machine and three ambulances. Jo Ellaine Collado, Zambales provincial legal officer attorney, said the financial grant will be used to upgrade a provincial hospital. 

The municipality of Baybay in Leyte received PHP3.97m for the purchase of medical equipment intended for Immaculate Conception Hospital. The municipal government of Balud, Masbate received PHP6m for the construction of a school building and the procurement of books, furniture and fixtures and laboratory equipment.

The other provinces receiving financial assistance were Aurora (PHP54m for the purchase of a 64-slice CT scan unit, anaesthesia machines and construction of a building) and Ilocos Norte (PHP15.05m for the purchase of hospital equipment).

PAGCOR chairman and CEO Andrea D. Domingo was present at the acts. She continues leading the regulator as new president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has not yet found a replacement.

A few weeks ago, former president Rodrigo Duterte praised PAGCOR for its vital contributions to the government’s Covid-19 response efforts. According to Duterte, the regulator helped millions of Filipinos who were gravely affected by the pandemic despite a decline in revenues.

In 2021, PAGCOR reported net income for the year was down 86.9 per cent year-on-year to PHP203.6m (US$4.0m) mainly due to multiple countermeasures and lockdowns associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the regulator and casino operator continues to remit funds for community projects.