Cruz vows to protest ‘Loterya ng Bayan’ plan in Pangasinan

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — The Loterya ng Bayan, said to be a substitute for jueteng aimed "to help the poor," is set to take off here in Pangasinan, the first province to try it for three months, if the provincial board approves a resolution endorsing it.

But this early, it looks like the move is set to face stiff opposition from no less than Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, the country’s top anti-jueteng crusader, who vowed "to register a loud protest against it, especially when (it is) played in this province where I am assigned."

"I hope the provincial board will think more than twice before they allow this venture to take root in the province, especially among the poor who are having less and less for their daily lives," Cruz told The STAR.

"I hope the provincial government would use their talents and resources to think of other more noble ways of raising money instead of promoting the culture of gambling," he said.

In its session last Friday, the provincial board referred the resolution proposing the Loterya ng Bayan, sponsored by fifth district board member Emmanuel Carancho, to its committees on rules, laws, ordinances and privileges, and monetary and economic affairs.

It will soon be scheduled for public hearings.

To be invited in these hearings, Carancho said, are Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn; Binalonan Mayor Ramon Guico Jr., president of the League of Municipalities; Senior Superintendent Alan Purisima, provincial police director; and Cruz, chairman of Krusadang Bayan Laban sa Jueteng.

It was under Hagedorn’s stint as anti-jueteng czar when mayors agreed on the idea of Loterya ng Bayan to replace the popular illegal numbers game.

Carancho, a known Catholic charismatic leader in his district, said those displaced by the anti-jueteng crackdown need an alternative source of income.

Although he admitted that this could result in another controversy, he said, "I have done my job as a proponent of the resolution and it is up to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to approve or reject it. But as for me, I have a clear conscience because it is really my obligation to my constituents and Pangasinan."

An experiment of Loterya ng Bayan is reportedly ongoing in Makati City.

In his resolution, Carancho said the Loterya ng Bayan is a numbers game authorized by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to be operated in local government units on an experimental basis.