Close to 300 grade two pupils and staff of Exodus Elementary School in Cainta, Rizal receive early Christmas treat during PAGCOR's 12th day of Pamaskong Handog 2016.


Singer Thor entertains the pupils and staff of Exodus Elementary School during PAGCOR's 12th day of Pamaskong Handog 2016.

Like many children from less privileged families, ten-year-old pupil Divina Baggao knows how it is like to celebrate Christmas without much fanfare.

At a young age, the fifth grader from Holy Spirit Elementary School in Quezon City doesn’t expect much from her parents. Her father is out of work while her mother, who is a street vendor, does everything to make both ends meet.

But this year, Christmas was different for Divina along with over 500 pupils from the Holy Spirit Elementary School in Quezon City and Exodus Elementary School in Cainta, Rizal after the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) treated them to a festive yuletide party on the 11th and 12th days of the agency’s 2016 Pamaskong Handog.

When she saw the contents of the noche buena gift pack from PAGCOR, Divina knew at once that her family will have a nice feast on Christmas eve. Aside from the noche buena gift packs, the kids were treated to an exciting party which was made more colorful by the performances of celebrity guest Thor and PAGCOR’s in-house talents.

The Holy Spirit Elementary School where Divina studies is the adopted school of Haligi ng Bata, Inc. (HBI) while the Exodus Elementary School is the adopted school of Operation Blessing Foundation Philippines, Inc. (OBFPI).

Both institutions, which were recipients of PAGCOR’s 2016 Pamaskong Handog project, had been advocating for the improvement of the lives of the less privileged families in the country through scholarship grants, skills trainings, family counseling, and health services, among others.  To make Christmas extra special for their young beneficiaries, HBI and OBFPI selected the said schools to benefit from PAGCOR’s gift-giving project this year.

HBI Executive Director Leticia Magaan, who was overwhelmed by PAGCOR’s act of generosity, expressed her gratitude to the state-run gaming firm for staging a grand Christmas party for their foundation. “Noon, nababalitaan ko lang na maraming mga institusyong natutulungan at napapasaya ang PAGCOR kapag sumasapit ang panahon ng Kapaskuhan. Ngayon, kami naman ang kanilang nabiyayaan kaya’t taos-puso kaming nagpapasalamat. Umaasa po kaming hindi ito ang una’t huling pagkakataong kami’y kanilang matutulungan,” Magaan related.

Meanwhile, Kristine Oribiana, the Chidren’s Program Supervisor of OBFPI shared that while their organization strives to help change the lives of their beneficiaries through livelihood trainings, spreading joy to less privileged kids during the yuletide season gives them a sense of fulfillment.

"We have several projects for children during the holiday season and other special occasions because most of these kids don't experience these celebrations at home. We try to give them something special because we want to make them feel loved and cared for," Oribiana said.

PAGCOR Community Relations and Services Department (CRSD) Assistant Vice President Jeff Opinion, who attended the gift-giving event in HBI said that reaching out to the underprivileged during Christmas season is the agency’s noble way of sharing its blessings. “Ito’y isang munting paraan lamang para ipamahagi ng PAGCOR ang nakamit nitong pagpapala. Natutuwa po kami sa ligayang naihatid namin sa inyo ngayong araw,” he noted.

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