Imelda Papin expressed joy having been appointed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. as acting member of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
Imelda, considered among pillars of OPM, told us, “I wholeheartedly welcome this appointment, I consider it a blessing. With it, I would be able to continue my advocacy in helping society’s marginalized sector.”
“Actually, to be very honest about it, naantig ang puso ko,” she added. “Napaiyak ako. Sabi ko, ‘Thank you, Lord. What a blessing.’ Kasi diba? Dahil dito e, maipagpapatuloy ko ‘yung pagtulong sa mga nangangailangan ng tulong. This is my chance to continue with what I started years back.”
The country’s one and only Jukebox Queen went on to intimate her plan to extend the agency’s services from Monday to Sunday, an initiative she dubbed “Isang Linggong Serbisyo,” obviously taking inspiration from her hit “Isang Linggong Pag-ibig.”
She elaborated, “There are patients discharged by doctors on Friday afternoons and, you know, when they go to PCSO for help, they can’t be accommodated as quickly as possible dahil nga weekend. Ngayon, I aim to change that. I’m going to make sure somebody from the office will be able to assist them even on Saturday and Sunday, kahit online lang, to facilitate help and to minimize delays.”
Imelda maintained she already broached the idea to the President.
She shared, “I told him agad and he welcomed the idea. He actually told me to have it implemented as soon as possible.”
This is not the first time Imelda served in government.
She served as vice governor of Camarines Sur from 1998 to 2004 and from 2019 to 2022.
Imelda maintained, “Ako ay nasanay na sa pagtulong dahil ang papa ko noon ay nasa politics for 20 years. Nakita ng dalawang mata ko ‘yun. Marami na akong natulungan.”
She urged, “Gusto ko lang din ipaalala na ang mga games ng PCSO gaya ng lotto ay hindi yung usual na sugal. It has a charity component. Kapag tumaya ka, makakatulong ka sa nangangailangan.”
