MANILA, Philippines – Local government units and health facilities in the cities of Bacolod and Dumaguete, both on Negros Island, will receive ambulances as the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) resumes its donation program today.
PCSO general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II will lead officials and employees in the turnover of the ambulances.
The ambulance distribution is part of PCSO’s charity program to help local government units transport patients to health facilities.
Rojas said under the program, the PCSO has so far donated 691 ambulances to qualified parties around the country. He said the charity agency aims to donate one ambulance to every city and municipality.
Among the recent recipients of ambulances are the municipal government of Villasis in Pangasinan and the Lamitan Malunggay Integrated Group in Basilan.
An LGU or any group may request a PCSO ambulance through a resolution approved by the provincial, city or municipal council.
Fourth to sixth class municipalities may receive their ambulances as outright donations, while first to third class towns should enter into a 60-40 percent cost-sharing scheme and submit a certification of availability of funds from the local treasurer’s office.
Apart from local government units, public and private hospitals as well as government agencies, government-owned and controlled corporations, and state-owned colleges and universities may also request ambulances.
The PCSO allows recipients to request a new ambulance every five years.