“Small Town Lottery or STL may not be appreciated now but it is actually a jueteng killer. All the illegal number games are there—jueteng, masiao, pares, suertres, and others. STL is their generic name.”
This was how Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Alexander Balutan explained the issue on illegal gambling vis-à-vis the government’s campaign to promote and protect STL as a “jueteng killer.”
“This is why we launched STL in 2006 and we strengthened laws on this that year. Reason we got a major income. We are looking at P24 billion by the end of 2018,” Balutan said in a statement.
STL is a regular game by PCSO authorized by the national government through Section 1 of Republic Act 1169; while AACs are corporations or cooperatives duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or with the Cooperative Development Authority, respectively, that applied, been duly qualified and expressly authorized by the PCSO to conduct STL in a particular area.
“Jueteng has become a way of life of Filipinos since Spanish period and it is being controlled by gambling lords who do not remit taxes to the government. STL being supervised by the government through PCSO and they remit taxes to the government,” Balutan said.
According to Balutan, the expanded STL had provided 309,436 jobs for those who could not pass the nitty-gritties of job fairs because of their lack of education, old age, or they are physically impaired.
At present, these “kubradors (collectors)” are earning more than P7,000 a month, which is good enough to feed their families.
By the end of the year, STL workforce is projected to double by 600,000.
“We saved them from vices—example drugs—and from being exploited by criminals. At least we are giving our countrymen the opportunity to have a clean and decent job, and it’s not coming from illegal,” said Balutan.
In time, these people who are into illegal numbers game will be arrested because of the Memorandum of Agreement with the Philippine National Police.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Bureau of Investigation are also helping to stop illegal gambling.
STL has also generated P2 billion a month for President Rodrigo Duterte’s medical program for the poor.
Apart from providing economic activity to the province, the established and existing STL corporations provide regular medical mission and educational assistance to their towns and municipalities.
The PCSO Charter, or RA 1169, particularly on revenue allocation, provides that the revenue of the PCSO shall be allocated to 55 percent for prize fund (payment of prizes), 30 percent for charity fund (various charity programs and service) and 15 percent as operating fund (maintenance and operating expenses).
“Instead of tolerating jueteng, it’s better to support and strengthen STL,” said Balutan.