BACOLOD City – Mayor Evelio “Bing” Leonardia asserted that “whatever is legal should prevail” in relation to the closure of a lottery draw court in this capital city.
Executive Assistant IV Manuel Fraginal Sr. of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) directed the closure of the Peryahan Draw Center along Burgos-Lacson streets on April 16.
Fraginal, also PCSO’s Inter-Branch Security Monitoring head, said the draw center operates illegally as it no longer has authorization from the PCSO.
A PCSO certification issued on Feb. 27 has declared that all Peryahan ng Bayan operations in the country are “unauthorized and illegal,” Fraginal cited.
The PCSO issued the certification after the Regional Trial Court Branch 161 in Pasig City, Metro Manila denied Global Tech Mobile Online Corp.’s appeal for a writ of preliminary injunction on Oct. 13, 2017.
Global Tech manages all Peryahan operations in the country. It insisted that its operation in Bacolod City is legal.
Moreover, Global Tech provincial administrator Lito Estember filed criminal charges against Fraginal for making a “verbal [closure] order.”
Estember also filed charges for grave coercion and alarm and scandal against Fraginal at the City Prosecutor’s Office on April 18.
Global Tech has requested the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) to issue a Resolution of No Objection to allow its operation. But the SP has yet to give Global Tech this.
“[I] would like to advise the SP to take a very close and deep assessment on the situation because it might make the wrong decision,” Leonardia said.
Leonardia added that he also referred Global Tech’s request to the City Legal Office./PN
