MANILA, Philippines — Good news for government hospitals: The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Wednesday said it would begin disbursing P447 million to 81 public hospitals around the country, with the Philippine General Hospital in Manila, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa City, and Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City getting P50 million each.
The Lung Center of the Philippines will get P35 million, while the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Davao Regional Medical Center and Cagayan Valley Medical Center are allotted P30 million each.
Smaller hospitals will get between P1 million to P2.5 million each.
The P447-million fund from the PCSO Calamity Assistance Program budget is separate from the P420 million that the agency provided PhilHealth.
The PCSO said the assistance must be used specifically in the fight against COVID-19, including the procurement of medical and diagnostic equipment and personal protective equipment.
“We call on the heads of these hospitals to reach out to the nearest PCSO office in their area for the details of the assistance, so they can start planning how to use (it) based on the given limitations,” said PCSO general manager Royina Garma.