Public bidding of STL in QC questioned

The Quezon City Advocates for Responsible Entertainment, Sports, Gaming and Wellnes (QCares) and Globaltech Mobile Online Corporation are questioning the legality of what they claim to be a “rigged” public bidding for the Small Town Lottery (STL) of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in the city.

In a statement, QCares and Globaltech said Lucent Gaming and Entertainment won the conducted bidding “even though it was not financially sound to manage and sustain an STL operation.”

They said that a certain Ronald Pagulayan is the supposed real owner of Lucent Gaming and Entertainment, a ‘One Person Corporation’ (OPC) who was able to get the nod for the operation despite seeming “irregularities.”

The PCSO and Lucent Gaming had yet to respond to queries on the issue as of posting time.

QCares and Globaltech also expressed their concern over reports that an unnamed businessman has supported the daily remittance and operation of Lucent from October 2021 to February 2022, since they claimed Pagulayan “did not have the real ability to pay his obligations to the government.”

“QCares strongly condemns the said activity as it would be considered as subcontracting, in violation of the rules set out in the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (RIRR) of the PCSO,” it said.

“If the information is true, QCares proposes the revocation of the permission and authority granted to the said operator,” the group added.

Meanwhile, Globaltech was puzzled with the decision of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to apply to the court for the issuance of search warrants against the Peryahan ng Bayan while it is still in arbitration, said its lawyer Bernard Vitriolo.

Furthermore, QCares is concerned about the STL operation in the city “because it is becoming the main tool to spread illegal gambling in Quezon City despite the intensified campaign being conducted by the director of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), PBGen Remus B Medina,” its statement said.