Pangasinan board still cautious on STL

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — Three companies are interested in operating the government-sanctioned small town lottery (STL) in Pangasinan but the provincial board is still cautious in endorsing anyone as guidelines remain vague.

Fourth district board member John Agerico Rosario told The STAR that they conducted a committee hearing last Friday on the request of three STL applicants, namely Anchorbay Lucky Gaming Corp., Logistics Pointers Trading and Marketing Corp. and Pangasinan World Link Inc., which are all vying for the board’s endorsement.

A fourth company is also keen on operating STL but it has yet to formally file an application, said Rosario.

He said the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), which is authorized to operate STL nationwide, needs to clarify some matters.

"It can happen that if we endorse one corporation, (the PCSO may) decide on authorizing another. So medyo may problema tayo doon (it seems we have a problem there)," he said.

Lawyer Romualdo Quiñones, division manager for PCSO’s special projects, told the board members that their endorsement is a requirement for an STL agent to operate.

Rosario, however, said Quiñones admitted that in Negros Occidental, 14 municipalities disallowed STL despite the provincial board’s endorsement.

Rosario said some towns could also reject an STL agent endorsed by the provincial board, making the situation chaotic.

Besides the Sangguniang Panlalawigan’s endorsement, Rosario said the governor should also agree to the board’s decision.

"Those things have to go hand in hand before they (STL operators) could come in," he said.

"Aliwan malinew (It’s not clear)" he said. "Although we are being given assurance that if we agree to a test-run for one year and if we find that there are problems in the operations, we can always go to the PCSO and ask (that the agent be replaced)."

Rosario said he wants to know the stand of Gov. Victor Agbayani on the issue, "otherwise it would be pointless for the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to go ahead and come out with an endorsement that would later be rejected."