When the regular jueteng collections of at least PhP200 million a day or PhP73 billion a year in Metro Manila, Cordillera Administrative Region and Regions 1 to 5 alone translate to a mere PhP4 billion income for the PCSO from Small Town Lottery (STL) operations, a big chunk of which is not even in cash remittances but recorded as collectibles, we do not need an Albert Einstein to figure out how much goes to the individual pockets of STL franchise holders, corrupt politicians, policemen and PCSO officials.
No matter how many congressional hearings are conducted, the palms of these people continue to be greased by gambling money.
The fact is, illegal jueteng merely masquerades as legitimate STL operations, 7 days a week, without fail, whose “kubrador” are armed with PCSO IDs to avoid arrest by the police who may be co-opted anyways.
Should Lotto Have Been Excluded from the President’s ‘Suspension’ Order?
It’s like this: if the intention is to stop gambling altogether, then all forms of gambling, including the PAGCOR-regulated games like casinos and online should have been included.
Since it doesn’t appear that way, then lotto outlets should have been spared since there are no reports of revenue cheating as far as lotto operations are concerned because they are computerized and automated and therefore closely monitored – unlike STL where PCSO, for millions of reasons, has consistently resisted to make it more transparent and foolproof.
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Related:
Hearing on the controversies involving PCSO (Jan. 24, 2018)
Interview after hearing on PCSO-related issues (Feb. 12, 2018)