STL ‘ILLEGAL BOOKIES’ ROB FUNDS FOR THE POOR - PCSO
By Sonny T. Mallari

Legal lottery. Money derived from Small Town Lottery which is allotted to finance the government charity programs for the indigents is being sabotaged by the continuous operation of “illegal bookies”.

LUCENA CITY - An official of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in Quezon urged authorities to stop the resurgence of illegal “bookies” of government-run Small Town Lottery (STL) in different parts of the province because, she said, it robs charity funds for the poor. “If the proliferation of these illegal bookies would go on unabated, our source of funds for the poor will be greatly affected. These bookies are robbing the money that is intended to help the indigents,” Leti Renomeron, PCSO-Quezon branch manager, told the CPW in an interview.

Most of the proceeds from STL operations are allotted to finance PCSO charity funds, aside from the share of host local government unit and the police.
On the evening of July 29, five suspected members of a local “bookies” group operating in nearby Sariaya town were arrested by operatives from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) based in Camp Crame.

A police report identified the suspects as Alexander Reynoso, Christopher Manalo, Aldrin Dimayuga, Rexon Maniebo and Sherwin Macatangay, the alleged group leader, all residents of the village of Morong here.
The group was arrested inside the house of village councilor Marcelo Gayeta in possession of assorted STL paraphernalia and undetermined amount of money from illegal bet collections.

A police source, who requested anonymity for lack of authority to speak to media, said the illegal gambling operation is being financed by a relative of a local official.
Jose Gonzales, operations manager of Pirouette Corp., the franchise holder of STL in Quezon, said the suspects were not company employees nor authorized bet collectors.

“They are members of illegal bookies. We don't have their names in our roster of workers,” he said over the phone.
Gonzales said Pirouette had already submitted to Camp Crame a complete list of the company's employees, including its sales agents, and also the location of its stations in every municipality.
He lamented the resurgence of illegal “bookies” in the province.
“We have long been urging government authorities to help us stop the operations of bookies. They are sabotaging not only our operation but also the PCSO's charity programs,” Gonzales said.

He said the operation of bookies is taking away income from the STL.
He urged authorities to protect the government-sanctioned lottery because it provides employment to thousands of people in the province. The STL operation in Quezon covers the entire province.

“Most of our workers in different municipal stations were fresh college graduates. They now earn money to help their parents,” he said.
Gonzales praised the DILG operatives for the successful raid and urged authorities to seriously combat the resurgence of illegal gambling syndicates in the province disguised as STL operations.

A police intelligence report identified the towns of Sariaya, Unisan, Catanauan, Real and Polillo island and the Lusacan village in Tiaong with widespread operations of illegal bookies.

Senior Superintendent Fidel Posadas, Quezon police chief, ordered police station chiefs to protect the operation of the government-run lottery by being vigilant in their anti-illegal gambling campaigns.

However, he said, some of the illegal “bookies” were being protected by relatives of local officials.
“Stopping these illegal gambling operations should be a concerted effort of all government officials and not of the police alone,” he said.
Under the police's “one-strike policy,” a police chief automatically gets sacked if the national anti-illegal gambling unit successfully busts a gambling syndicate in his town or city.