Gov. Degamo orders illegal STL stopped
DUMAGUETE CITY — Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo has ordered a stop to the Small Town Lottery (STL) in the province that he said has been operating illegally.
Degamo issued the order after learning from a Senate inquiry that an STL franchise per se is legal but there are operations that are taken advantage of by private individuals without permits, defrauding the government of the necessary revenues.
Due to the illegal operations, billions of the projected revenues from the operation of STL nationwide went to the hands of ‘illegalists,’ said the governor.
Degamo told Belena Alvarez, branch manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) who paid him a courtesy call Thursday morning, that he will put in writing his stand on the STL operation in Negros Oriental through a letter addressed to the new PCSO general manager.
Degamo has directed the police to dismantle STL kiosks, booths or substations found in the barangays that are operating illegally. This after he got reports that a lot of private individuals had put up what look like STL kiosks, but receiving bets for the illegal swertres instead, and remit the money to their “boss.”
This has been the reason why ‘illegalists’ in the province wanted him out of office because he is determined to run after them, said the governor.
Alvarez however said that Four Aces Corporation, represented by Christopher Santiago, is still the approved franchisee of STL operations in the province, unless the PCSO national office stops this.
Four Aces is an agency authorized corporation (ACC) with a PCSO board approval, and thus operating legally, said Alvarez, although it must comply with all the requirements, one of which is that it shall remit P21 million in revenues to the PCSO every month.
Records, however, showed Four Aces has not complied with this agreement. Alvarez said she was told the corporation is remitting only between P8 million and P10 million a month, even citing that its revenues have been direly affected by the illegal swertres.
Negros Oriental 3rd district Representative Arnie Teves, for his part, clarified that it was not P21 million but a certain percentage of the P21 million presumptive monthly retail receipt (PMRR), or from 30 percent to 35 percent of the gross, which is about P7 million.
Teves however clarified some news reports. He declared that he is not the owner of Four Aces.