21,000 LOTTO, STL OUTLETS ISINARA
Tinatayang aabot sa 21,000 outlets ng lotto, Small-Town Lottery (STL) at iba pang betting stations ng iba pang sugal ang isinara ng Philippine National Police (PNP) matapos ideklara ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na iligal ang mga prangkisa at lisensyang ipinalabas sa kanila ng Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
Sa panayam, sinabi ni Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac, tagapagsalita ng Philippine National Police (PNP), karamihan sa mga ikinandado ay STL betting, at lotto outlets, Keno at Peryahan ng Bayan (PNB).
“The closure is still ongoing. We are still consolidating data on how many outlets have been closed so far,” ayon kay Banac.
Sinabi naman ni Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, hepe ng National Capital Region Police (NCRPO), naisara na nila ang lahat ng tayaan sa Metro Manila at Calabarzon area.
“The order of the President for the PNP to help the implementation of his declaration that lotto and other PCSO-licensed games as illegal was 100 percent complied in Metro Manila as of 11 p.m. Saturday. We immediately implemented the order before the opening of lotto outlets on Saturday to make sure that there will be no more bettors who would shell out money to place bets because these games were already considered illegal as of Friday when President Duterte announced it,” aniya.
Paliwanag ni Banac, sinabihan na aniya ni PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde ang mga may-ari ng establisimyento na kusa nang magsara.
Iminungkahi naman ng isang senador na isailalim sa privatization ang PCSO upang hindi magkaroon ng kurapsyon sa operasyon nito.
“An alternative to the total banning of gaming activities operated, licensed and franchised by the PCSO would be for the government to just let the private sector operate lottos and casinos and then collect guaranteed proceeds. The proceeds should be remitted directly to the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) to fund social service programs. This way we can avoid mishandling of funds that are supposed to be allocated to help the poor,” aniya.
“I-privatize na lang ang operation ng PCSO. Sa ganitong paraan, pwedeng ipagpatuloy ang operation ng lotto, maiiwasan at matitigil na ang corruption sa gobyerno, at magkakaroon pa ang gobyerno ng siguradong kita na magagamit sa pagtulong sa mga kapus-palad nating kababayan,” ayon pa sa kanya.