Loterya ng Bayan up in 2 months

MANILA, Philippines - The PCSO Loterya ng Bayan (PLB), which is expected to operate in two months, is expected to neutralize jueteng and other illegal numbers games nationwide.

A Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) source said operators of jueteng and other illegal numbers games in central and northern Luzon have formed legitimate gaming companies to operate legal PLB outlets.

“Jueteng lords are working overtime to get authority to operate Loterya,” the source said.

The PCSO issued a final notice last week to operators of the controversial Small Town Lotteries (STL) to shift their operations to the newly launched PLB in order to continue operating the legal numbers game.

In a memorandum signed by the PCSO board headed by Margarita Juico as chairman, Mabel Mamba,Aleta Tolentino, Francisco Joaquin III and Betty Nantes as directors, the STL operators were given 60 days to shift to the PLB.

PCSO general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas said the final guidelines of the PLB would be effective 15 days after its publication in a newspaper of national circulation.