'STL aggravating jueteng problem'

MANILA, Philippines - Private operators of small-town lottery (STL) have been depriving the government of billions of pesos in revenues, retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz said yesterday.

Testifying before the House of Representatives, Cruz said seven STL operators have been underreporting their gross sales to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

“The PCSO has been duped to high heavens, so to speak,” he said.

“In short, there is something very, very wrong in how STL is being operated in the country, how the STL is practically in the hands of jueteng operators.”

Cruz said the Piroutte Corp., the STL operator in Quezon province, has earned P1.8 billion between January and June this year but declared only P90,855,684 in receipts to the PCSO.

The Batangas Enhanced Technology Systems Inc. profited P240 million a month in Batangas during the same period but declared only sales of P62 million to the PCSO, he added.

STL operators Lake Tahoe Gaming and Amusement Corp., Sunset Bay Research and Marketing Corp., Ramloid Gaming Corp., Diamond Gaming and Research Center Corp., and Suncove Corp. also understated their gross receipts, Cruz said.

PCSO general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas told the House committee on games and amusement that since the STL started operating from 2006 and until August 2010, it has recorded gross sales of P8.4 billion.

However, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga said STL was supposed to be a P40-billion a year industry.

Responding, Rojas said the figure might not be accurate because the STL was only operating in 20 provinces.

San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito asked Cruz whether jueteng was rampant in the previous administration.

In response, Cruz said: “I would answer by saying (jueteng) flourished in the present administration.”

He was already having doubts in the Aquino administration’s resolve to stamp out illegal gambling, Cruz added.

Santiago to Malacañang: Study jueteng legalization

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago called on Malacañang yesterday to study proposals to legalize jueteng.

In a privilege speech, Santiago said the United States had to repeal a constitutional amendment prohibiting the sale of liquor in the 1920s.

“There are occasions when government, seeking to prohibit absolutely, finds the law impossible to enforce,” she said.

“If we cannot prohibit, should we not regulate?”

Speaking over Radyo Bombo in Iloilo City, Santiago said Philippine presidents have come and gone, but jueteng has remained.

“No administration has yet succeeded in sending a gambling lord to jail,” she said.

“If so, should we not settle for regulating jueteng, instead of abolishing it on paper, without any realistic hope of success on the ground?”

Santiago said Congress should consider legalization because the prohibition of jueteng has merely increased its reach and volume and led to the “perennial criminal conspiracy” between the interior and local government secretary and the Philippine National Police chief.

Jueteng has enabled operators, through their untaxed wealth and major campaign contributions, to control the winners in local and national elections, she added.

Santiago said she has been receiving death threats since she came out with her exposé on jueteng last week.?“Please post all death threats on my Facebook wall,” she said.

Santiago said the “implied threats” were coursed through her office in Quezon City.

The callers did not identify themselves but they made it clear that they were responding to her privilege speech last week, she added.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Alan Cayetano urged Malacañang to make a stand if it is for or against jueteng.

“For me, what are we jueteng for?” he said.

“Are we waiting for another news cycle or a new issue or do we really mean business under this new administration?”

Cayetano said jueteng has affected two presidencies already.

“I think people who love this president should start moving and show that we really mean business in stopping this illegal numbers game,” he said.

“I think the bigger question for this administration is ‘What are we jueteng (waiting) for? Are we ‘jueteng’ for the hearings to finish?”

Cayetano said the Senate inquiries on jueteng will only make sense if the executive branch takes a stand.

Earlier, a franchise holder of STL in Batangas pushed to professionalize mobile STL operations to generate revenues for the government and eradicate jueteng.

Benedict Bulatao, president of BETS, said the move aims to save the betting public from rampant cheating and proliferation of corruption at the local level.

He said BETS is the only Filipino firm that can effectively operate STL using software system integration that will not allow cheating unlike jueteng. The firm has also been a pioneer of reforms in the STL operations in the country that seeks to professionalize online betting and raise proper revenues for the government.

“The technology is already there and it’s just a matter of maximizing it. We can help the society earn from the revenues and avoid cheating the public by using this,” Bulatao said.

Bacalzo: Don’t use my name in jueteng

Philippine National Police chief Director General Raul Bacalzo warned yesterday individuals against using his name or the police force in their illegal gambling.?Director Raul Castañeda, chief of the directorial staff, said Bacalzo is committed to ensure that the police will enjoy the trust and confidence of the people.

“Anyone caught using his name and/or PNP in achieving his evil intention will be arrested, investigated, and if evidence warrants, appropriate charges will be filed against them,” he said.?All police chiefs are held responsible for the strict implementation of Bacalzo’s directive, and that the doctrine of command responsibility shall be enforced on commanders whose subordinates are caught violating the directive, Castañeda said.

Paolo Romero, Philippine Star