THE small-town lottery being run by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is “illegal” and must be stopped, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez told a congressional hearing on Monday.
“Let’s not joke around each other here. What you are doing is illegal and is being done to accommodate jueteng,” Alvarez told the hearing being conducted by the House committee on games and amusements.
“Congress is the one which gives you your Charter, and we are telling you now that what you are doing is not provided in your charter.”
Alvarez made his statement even as Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa declared war on illegal gambling nationwide with the financiers of the lucrative business as targets.
“By this pronouncement, the PNP is hereby declaring war on illegal gambling,” Dela Rosa told reporters in Camp Crame.
He said the war on illegal gambling will not be bloody unless the targets will use arms to fight back.
“They [gamblers] are not like druggies. They don’t need to sacrifice their lives,” Dela Rosa said.
The committee on games and amusements,led by Parañaque City Rep. Gus Tambunting, conducted the hearing in response to the resolutions filed in Congress seeking to look into the proliferation of illegal gambling in the country and the alleged failure of the STL operators to generate enough revenues for the government.
Alvarez said the PCSO charter bans STL operations.
“[The PCSO is a] “principal government agency for raising and providing medical assistance and services and charities of national character, and as such shall have the authority to hold and conduct charity sweepstakes races, lotteries and similar activities,” Alvarez said.
He threatened to file charges against the PCSO officials before the Ombudsman should they continue their STL operations.
“You should stop your STL operation unless you want to be charged before the Office of the Ombudsman for doing things that you are not authorized [to do]. STL is not a national lottery. You should focus on the national lottery,” Alvarez said.
But PCSO chairman George Corpuz said the STL was being operated within the mandate of the PCSO.
He said the 18 STL operators in the country were able to raise P4.7 billion in revenues in 2015 and P6.4 billion in 2016.
He said the PCSO even expanded its STL operations in January by raising the number of STL operators to 56 with an estimated government revenue target of P27.8 billion for 2017.
Alvarez was not convinced.
“It will be better if you stop and cancel all the permits you issued to STL operators or else Congress will lodge a complaint against all of you before the Ombudsman,” he said.