• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office has issued an appeal to all local government executives in Negros Occidental to support the Small Town Lottery (STL), operated by the Super Lucky Beagler, Inc. (SLBI), in the wake of numerous apprehensions of persons engaged in illegal gambling, by the National Bureau of Investigation and the police.
Jose Manuel Villagracia, branch manager of PCSO in Negros Occidental, in separate letters to Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer and Kabankalan City Mayor Benjie Miranda, said “The success of STL games will help the national government raise additional charity funds and increase the number of people who will greatly benefit from PCSO’s medical and charity assistance work for the less privileged.”
Additional revenues from the game are also intended to benefit the constituents through LGUs, by way of allocating corresponding STL shares from the gross sales of the operations, Villagracia said.
This also developed as more six more persons were charged in court for violation of RA 9287, or illegal gambling, following their February arrests at Purok Kasilingan in Brgy. Tangub, Bacolod City, and the recovery of P1,354 in cash bets and assorted gambling paraphernalia.
The NBI earlier issued subpoenas against two barangay captains and two suspected operators of illegal STL operations in Kabankalan City, following a meeting with bet solicitors at a barangay hall.
Letters similar to the ones sent to Lacson, Ferrer and Miranda, have been also sent to all barangay captains in Kabankalan City, who were reported by the NBI to have been gathered by a former elected government official and informed them that the license of SLBI to operate STL has already expired.
Villagracia stressed that SLBI remains the sole authorized entity to operate STL in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.*
