The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) will soon open its offices seven days a week to provide enhanced medical and hospitalization assistance to those in need.

PCSO director Imelda Papin cited the initiative — dubbed as Isang Linggong Serbisyo which she conceptualized — aims to address the challenges of poor patients who cannot be discharged from a hospital due to the unavailability of PCSO services on weekends.

The situation often forces patients to extend their hospital stays unnecessarily, leading to additional costs and inconvenience.

“President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed his satisfaction with this concept and promptly approved it. We are currently implementing this new policy in the National Capital Region as part of a pilot or dry run,” Papin said.

Once successfully tested, the policy is expected to roll out nationwide, ensuring more accessible and timely assistance for individuals and families requiring financial aid for medical and hospitalization needs.

The PCSO director was in Candelaria, Quezon recently to oversee a medical and dental mission sponsored by the agency.

Meantime, more than 500 residents, mostly seniors and children, benefited from the free services.

Papin said this is their first medical and dental mission in this province, bringing not only medicines and vitamins but also their own pediatricians, nurses and dentists.

“Mayor George Suayan persistently ‘knocked’ on my office, initiating this medical mission for his people,” Papin said.

For his part, Suayan said he just had to look for agencies that could help him implement his health programs.

“Times like this when our local budget is almost depleted, I have to look for other options so I can still deliver basic services to my people,” said Suayan, adding that the local government’s counterpart is manpower.

Most of the beneficiaries of the medical mission are elderlies with blood pressure concerns, hence the abundant supply of maintenance medicine, said municipal health officer Quennie Mateo. A number of children were also given vitamins and more than 100 of them sought dental services, including tooth extraction. Some women also availed of obstetrics-gynecology consultation.