PCSO chair hopes to continue working with CBCP in helping poor

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office chair Margie Juico on Tuesday said the agency would continue working with the Roman Catholic clergy in aiding the poor and the sick.

“The PCSO values its partnership with the Church. The charity institution shares the concerns of the Church in extending medical and health services to the poor and in helping make their lives a little better. The Church is an indispensable ally and partner of government in nation-building,” Juico said in an address to around 200 PCSO employees at the start of a “unity mass” at around 4 p.m.

Juico said she was “humbled” by the statement of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines expressing its apology to the Catholic community and the public over the solicitation and acceptance by some prelates of donations from the PCSO.

Juico, a Catholic, said “time has come forward for the healing of wounds, for reconciliation and for moving forward.”

“We pray that the divisive and contentious issues that unfolded in recent days do not deter us, the CBCP and the PCSO, from still working together and continuing our mission of alleviating the plight of the poor,” she added.

Juico also said she hoped the Senate inquiry on the PCSO operations would provide clear-cut rules on how the institution should dispense funds for charity and social concerns.