MANILA – The new conditions the government imposed on the Small Town Lottery (STL) aimed to curb corruption in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo.
He added STL operators will no longer have an “excuse to swindle the government.”
“From my point of view, the conditions will prevent corruption kasi you have to sign, at ‘tsaka may forfeiture. Andaming conditions mahihirapan na sila,” Panelo said.
“The conditions are very onerous on the part of the STL and parang mahirapan na silang magkaroon ng excuse not to remit or to swindle the government with respect to the shares,” he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday lifted the nearly month-long suspension of STL operations following a recommendation from the PCSO which runs the betting scheme.
PCSO said authorized agent corporations (AACs) compliant with the conditions of their STL agency agreement, and which had been remitting their guaranteed minimum monthly retail receipts may operate, provided that they comply with several conditions.
The conditions include the AACs having to pay a cash bond equivalent to three months of the PCSO’s share in the Guaranteed Minimum Monthly Retail Receipts (GMMRR) on top of their existing cash bonds and that failure to timely and fully remit their GMMRR would mean forfeiture of the cash bond.
Each AAC is required to execute a written undertaking that it will comply with its obligations under the STL agency agreement and will not institute any claims, monetary or otherwise, against the government, and/or apply for a temporary restraining order or injunction from any court to prevent the government from exercising its rights and prerogatives.
The STL agency agreement will automatically be terminated upon violation of the conditions of their franchise and/or any of the conditions without prejudice to the other remedies that may be availed by the government.
Duterte on July suspended all of PCSO’s gaming operations due to alleged massive corruption. But a few days later, he lifted the suspension of its lotto game after the Palace found no irregularities in its operations./PN
