PCSO hit for limiting medical, health assistance to poor beneficiaries By Pat C. Santos 08/14/2011

PCSO hit for limiting medical, health assistance to poor beneficiaries

By Pat C. Santos 08/14/2011

The militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) yesterday slammed the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) for implementing new policies limiting health and medical assistance to poor beneficiaries, saying the Aquino government is narrowing an option for poor people in need of such assistance.

“Faced with severe unemployment, low wages and decreasing subsidy for health services, our poor kababayans have been availing themselves of PCSO’s assistance for their health and medical needs. It is poor Filipinos who will suffer from PCSO’s new policy of reducing health and medical assistance,” said Roger Soluta, KMU secretary-general.

“What the Aquino government should do is investigate PCSO executives’ salaries and misuse of funds, not reduce the agency’s health and medical assistance. The servicing of the P4-billion debt which the agency acquired because of mismanagement and corruption is not an excuse to reduce services to the sick and needy,” he added.

“Reforms in the PCSO should on the contrary yield an improvement in its services, and not a limiting of these. Investigations into mismanagement and corruption in the agency should also increase funds to support PCSO’s services,” Soluta said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110814met2.html