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- EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — SciTech & Digital News
MANDALUYONG CITY (SDN) — A former judge is the new chairman of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), Felix Padua Reyes.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. picked him up from the charity agency’s Board of Directors. That makes his appointment as PCSO head a promotion.
Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin swore him into office on May 28, 2024. Reyes replaced Junie Cua as chairman.
He was an erstwhile president of the Philippine Judges Association (PJA), having served before as acting presiding judge of the Taguig Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 70 ((2017-2019), Lipa City RTC in February 2011 to September 2021, and Calamba City, Laguna, RTC from 2011 to 2013, according to GMA Integrated News report.
Upon receiving his appointment, Reyes, in a statement sent by the PCSO to members of the media, expressed his thanks to the President for having appointed him on November 14, 2022, as member of the PCSO Board.
He said he was a graduate of the University of the East (UE) Law College in 1986 and passed the same year the Bar.
The charity agency’s general manager, Melquiades “Mel” A. Robles, welcomed the new PCSO head.
In a statement reaching SDN — SciTech & Digital News, the PCSO assured that Reyes “will see to it that the agency would reach out and provide much-needed medical aid and other forms of assistance to more people, including those living in far-flung provinces.”
Robles said he looks forward on working with the new chairman, adding Reyes’s extensive experience in the Judiciary and sterling record as a public servant would push the PCSO to new heights.
“This dawning of a new era at PCSO, and the entire agency is looking forward to be working with Chairman Reyes,” the PCSO general manager and vice chairman emphasized.
Reyes’s first stint was as a private practitioner at Plaridel C. Jose & Associates in Pasay City, Metro Manila, while also working with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) as legal aid lawyer for the group’s Pasay-Makati-Mandaluyong-San Juan Chapter.
Having been honed as private practitioner, he then established his own law firm, the F.P. Reyes Law Offices, 1992-2000, with Headquarters in Makati City, Metro Manila.
The new PCSO head joined the government through his stint in 2000-2002 at the Land Registration Authority (LRA), which is an attached agency of the Department of Justice (DOJ). He climbed to head the LRA’s Law Division as its chief.
He had many more experiences in the public sphere, which apparently had its peak as the first Filipino judge to convict terrorists — under the Human Security Act of 2007 — from the ISIS-Maute cases involving the siege of Marawi City in 2017. He was then acting presiding judge of the Taguig City RTC.
Increased revenue a goal of new chairman
On October 13, 2013, the UE Alumni Association, Inc. awarded Reyes one of its Outstanding Alumnus during the 75th UE Alumni Grand Reunion.
As the charity agency’s new chief, Reyes wants to expand the PCSO’s scope and reach of assistance that it provides to the poor by harnessing the services of their branch offices nationwide.
“We will think of ways na mabibigyan ng tulong ang lahat ng mga nangangailangan mahihirap nating kababayan lalo na iyong may mga sakit, kahit nasa malalayong lugar at lalawigan sila,” Reyes assured.
He pointed to improving connectivity between the PCSO Central Office and its branches as an important tool in realizing these goals. The new head of the charity agency said this is to speed up relaying to the Central Office the requests for assistance the branches are receiving.
Reyes also spoke about his desire about increasing the PCSO’s annual revenue, “so that they could contribute more to the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) and extend assistance to more poor people.”
He expressed confidence the current target revenue of the charity agency, Php60 billion for 2024, could be increase to as much as Php70 billion in 2025, and Php100 billion in the coming two years if the PCSO could come up with new betting platforms harnessing new technology.
“There is a good chance that we could attain those target revenue, especially with the introduction of new games and with the use of modern technology. We should not rely on fixed terminals anymore, but also utilize technology in our betting platforms,” Reyes said.
As some people may not know, the PCSO does not receive even a centavo of financial support from the National Government, as it relies solely on its revenue from its gaming products, Lotto, Small Town Lottery (STL), Digit Games, Keno, ScrathIt Cards, Sweepstakes (occasionally conducted).
Presently, from every peso of its revenue, 55 centavos go to Prize Fund, 30 centavos to Charity Fund, and 15 centavos to Operating Fund. (/)