3 PB members say no to small town lottery

Three members of the Provincial Board filed a resolution expressing their strong opposition to the operation of small town lottery (STL) and asked the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to deny applications on the issuance of permits for the operation of STLs in any part of the province of Cebu.

PB members Victor Maambong, Agnes Magpale and Rosemarie Durano said that the STL is a new venture of the PCSO with the support of the Office of the President "to answer the chronic problems of jueteng that is rampant in the provinces of Luzon like in the northern part."

They pointed out that the province of Cebu, unlike the provinces of Luzon, "does not share in the seemingly unsolvable problem of jueteng gambling."

According to them, it will be unfounded for the PCSO to allow the operation of STL in the province.

The PB members recalled that when jai alai betting was so rampant in the province, there were teachers and even students who were observed to have worked on tip sheets during class hours.

Some students were used and exploited as "messengers" by financiers of the illegal numbers game known as "masiao".

They added that gambling, such as jai alai and jueteng, likely contribute to occurrences of theft, snatching and other petty crimes.

"It can also spark crimes against persons and properties, and was even noted to increase drop-out rate in schools where the attributing reason is the students' misguided willingness to try their luck in jai alai gambling," they said.

The introduction of STL, according to them like other forms of number games, encourages people to leave everything to chance.

In Cebu City, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said that small town lottery will find no place in his jurisdiction. - Jose P. Sollano