‘Gambling lords operate STL’

MANILA, Philippines — Gambling lords are involved in over 80 percent of small town lottery (STL) operations in the country, an official of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) said yesterday.

“The STL is legal, but the people behind them are gambling lords...I will show you some documents...Some of them are newly established corporations,” Sandra Cam, newly appointed PCSO director, told reporters.

Cam said gambling lords are operating at least 70 STL outlets in Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte.

She said she hired several members of the Whistleblowers Association of the Philippines to identify PCSO officials with connections to these gambling lords.

She cited Bong Pineda, whom she claims is among those operating STL in Pampanga and being protected by PCSO officials.

Meanwhile, at the hearing of the House of Representatives committee on games and amusement, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte urged the PCSO to suspend the franchise of STL operators engaged in illegal gambling.

Villafuerte cited STL operators in his province who accept bets from minors, collect bets outside STL stations, issue tickets and receipts without barcodes and do not remit their share in the towns where they operate.