PCSO one-stop center to rise in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) held a groundbreaking ceremony for its one-stop center along San Marcelino street in Manila yesterday.

“The PCSO is coming home after five decades. We will be constructing more buildings to accommodate our personnel and beneficiaries,” PCSO vice chairman and general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II said.

The agency was created in 1934 during the time of President Manuel Quezon. In its early years, the PCSO was housed at the Soriano building in Divisoria.

In the 1960s, the PCSO acquired the 1.19-hectare property that served as the agency’s home until 1998, when it transferred to a more spacious building at the Quezon Institute complex in Quezon City.

A time capsule – which contained a copy of the project brief, lotto and sweepstakes tickets, lotto draw balls, tokens from the PCSO board, and items believed to bring about prosperity – was laid at the groundbreaking site. The time capsule will be opened during the agency’s 100th anniversary in 2034, officials said.

Rojas said the PCSO plans to construct three buildings, to be completed in 2018, on its Manila property.

“At the planned PCSO center, all services will be gathered in one compound, making it easier and more convenient for the public to access PCSO services and products,” he said.

The PCSO holds lotteries and other games to raise funds for the government’s health, medical assistance and charity programs.

At present, the PCSO’s corporate offices are at Sun Plaza Building in Mandaluyong, its charity assistance and medical services departments at the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City while its logistics department is at its Manila property.

“Our stay at various locations now is only temporary, until the new buildings are constructed,” Rojas said.

The plan is for three interconnected buildings of varying heights to house the corporate, logistics and charity departments. The entire complex will have a floor area of 36,000 square meters, including parking and warehouses for gaming equipment and supplies.

The public bidding of the project’s design phase is expected to take three months, starting in July. The construction phase will be bidded out as well, Rojas said.

The PCSO has 38 branches nationwide, with more to be opened until 2016.