IN ITS effort to protect its legal gaming products, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has been going all out to halt illegal gambling activities throughout the country, particularly the Small Town Lottery.
Following this development, operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested at least 40 suspects in simultaneous raids on illegal Peryahan ng Bayan operations in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue recently.
It was learned from PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan that the arrested individuals worked for the outlets illegally operated allegedly by a firm called Globaltech Mobile Online Corp., which has been holding illegal gambling operations for the past two years without authorization from PCSO.
Balutan stressed the agency had terminated Globaltech in 2016 for failing to remit earnings to the government.
Balutan said the raids were conducted in coordination with the NBI Central Visayas Regional Office (NBI-CEVRO) following complaints from PCSO’s Authorized Agent Corporations (AACs) in Mandaue and Cebu.
PCSO revenues have been adversely affected by the continued operation of illegal gambling which unfairly competes with its legal gaming products, particularly the STL, so the agency had to act by stopping the operations of Globaltech nationwide, Balutan pointed out.
The PCSO team was led by Executive Assistant IV and Chief of Nationwide and Inter-Branch Security Monitoring, retired Marine Major Manuel Fraginal Sr. in coordination with agents of NBI-CEVRO led by Regional Director Tomas Enrile and NBI Senior Investigator V Arnel Pura.
According to Fraginal, the raids were conducted in 10 barangays in Mandaue City which led in the arrest of 18 Globaltech employees, while 15 barangays in Cebu City with 22 individuals arrested.
Seized during the operations were gambling paraphernalia, Peryahan ng Bayan ID cards bearing the PCSO logo, bet slips, marked money (used in the bet bust), cellular phones, several pieces of documents, and other evidence used for bet collection.
According to Balutan, the nabbed individuals will be charged for violating Republic Act (RA) 9287, or the Anti- Illegal Numbers Game Law, and RA 10175, or the Cybercrime Law.
The PCSO ordered the filing of illegal gambling cases against the 40 arrested individuals, but 18 of them were able to post bail.
The remaining 22 suspects are expected to post bail ranging from P60,000 to P120,000 each anytime for their temporary liberty.
Under RA 9287, the arrested individuals will face imprisonment of six to eight years for their involvement in illegal gambling operations.
The raids in Cebu province were conducted after the PCSO and the NBI shut down at least five Peryahan ng Bayan operations in Quezon City which led in the arrest of 57 bet collectors.
Balutan said the operation of Globaltech has been pronounced illegal by the PCSO in February 2016 after its Deed of Authority was terminated for non-remittance of earnings amounting to more than P100 million.
He says that continuous crackdowns on illegal gambling activities will eliminate illegal gambling activities.
This will help PCSO increase its revenues that this government uses to help people in need of medical assistance. (jaypeeyap@ymail.com/PN)
