TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The bid of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to establish small town lottery (STL) operations in this province through a private gaming firm was derailed as a result of consultations conducted by the Kalinga LGU last Monday.
In a joint meeting, the Provincial Peace and Order Council and the Kapehan sa Kapitolyo, a body composed of provincial and line agencies at the provincial capital here, voted overwhelmingly against the proposal of the PCSO.
Provincial Legal Officer Kristian Wandag said that of the more than 200 participants to include representatives from the cooperatives, the Department of Education and the clergy and civic leaders, only six voted in favor of the proposal with the rest disapproving it.
Wandag said that the inclusion of the business in the agenda of the joint meeting was an offshoot of a letter from the national PCSO informing Governor Jocel Baac that the agency had authorized the Mountainview Game of Chance Corp. (MGCC) to operate STL in the province.
Wandag said that the governor had replied that he will consult his constituents first.
Wandag related that the participants verified from the representatives of the MGCC the information that STL could be operated in the province without need of a business permit because they already have authority from the PCSO Board which is the official regulator of gambling in the country.
The representatives of the firm denied the word came from them.
However, according to Wandag, in his presentation during the meeting, Heherson Pambid, PCSO-Cagayan manager, basically repeated the claim that the PCSO can operate anywhere in the country without securing permits from LGUs because it is clothed with such authority by the PCSO Charter (RA 1169).
Wandag said that lawyers present during the meeting opined that STL must still secure permits from LGUs considering that operation of the gambling game is in exercise of the PCSO’s propriety function.
Wandag said that the clergymen contended that whether legal or illegal, the harmful effects of the operation on the population will be the same and therefore should not be allowed in the province.
Wandag also said that Mayor Ferdinand Tubban of this city and Mayor Ruben Dongui-is of Balbalan declared that their constituents are not yet ready for the gambling game and expressed wariness that its operation could create peace and order headaches.
Rev. Luis Aoas who eventually moved for the division of the house on whether or not to reject or allow the STL operation would tell the Zigzag Weekly later that during the meeting, the proponents were only dwelling on the advantages of the operation and never once acknowledged the evils of the gambling vice.
Pambid had informed that entities in the locality will be entitled to the following shares from the sales: Kalinga LGU and Tabuk City LGU – 1 percent apiece; Office of the Congressman – 0.75 percent; National Bureau of Investigation – 0.2 percent; and Philippine National Police – 2.3 percent.
To the question if the rejection of the entry of STL will affect PCSO funding for charity patients from the province, the PCSO assured that it will not.**By Estanislao Albano, Jr.
