ILOILO – Small Town Lottery (STL) in this province may resume next month but with a new operator.
According to Red Subay Gaming Corporation’s Atty. Rommel Duron, they received on Aug. 20 an authorization from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
“Most probably by the second week or within the month of September,” said Duron when asked when STL draws would resume.
Red Subay has to first submit a performance bond of P111 million and pay the P25.7-million authorization fee, said Duron, former hearing officer of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Western Visayas.
PCSO gave Red Subay 15 days beginning Aug. 20 to fulfill these, said Duron.
A performance bond is a guarantee that Red Subay, indeed, is capable of operating STL, said Duron.
PCSO also required Red Subay to submit within 15 days from Aug. 20 its company profile, proposed number of organic employees and location of STL draws.
Duron said Red Subay may likely hold draws in the municipality of Santa Barbara, describing it as a “strategic area.”
It was also in Santa Barbara where the previous STL Iloilo franchisee, Eagle-Crest Holding and Gaming Corp., held office and STL draws.
Duron, however, clarified Red Subay would be setting up its own facilities and office and not use Eagle-Crest’s.
Red Subay is also the STL franchisee in Batangas, said Duron. The owners, father and son Octavio and Octavio Anthony Marasigan, were his friends, he said, and asked him to be a part of their corporation’s Iloilo expansion.
Eagle-Crest, which had over 2,000 bet collectors across the province, held its last STL draw on May 9. PCSO cancelled its franchise for failing to remit the monthly Presumptive Monthly Retail Receipts (PMRR) – the amount determined by PCSO as the presumed minimum monthly sales of an authorized agent corporation or STL franchisee.
PCSO imposed the PMRR requirement to ensure that STL operators would not be able to cheat the government on their sales and revenues.
Aside from the failure to remit the monthly PMRR, an STL franchisee’s operation may also be terminated if it is found to have violated PCSO’s implementing rules and regulations for STL.
Under Article IV, Section 11 of the revised IRR for STL, an applicant for STL franchise must have a minimum authorized capital stock of P50 million./PN
