BACOLOD CITY?Top officials in Negros Occidental are leaving to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) the investigation of reports that small town lottery (STL) operators in the province are shortchanging the government.

Gov. Joseph Marañon Jr. said PCSO, which sells franchises and licenses to small firms to operate STL, is in the best position to investigate whether STL franchise holders in Negros Occidental were remitting the correct amount of revenue to government coffers.

He, however, said he was unaware of the operations of illegal numbers games using STL as a front.

Other officials also professed no knowledge of illegal gambling operations in Negros Occidental.

Senior Supt. Manuel Felix, Negros Occidental police provincial director, said he has no official information whether STL is being used as a front for jueteng. ?We have no reports from the field of that,? he said.

PCSO knows

Former Manapla Mayor Manuel Escalante, chair of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, agreed that the PCSO was the best agency to investigate reports of nonremittances of STL proceeds.

Escalante said PCSO and franchise holders were also in the position to determine how much local governments should receive from STL revenue.

In Eastern Visayas, operators of STL reported very low revenues from the government-licensed game.

In June, according to an official of PCSO, the two operators of STL in the region reported sales of less than P200,000.

Less than P200,000

Zenaida Delantar, PCSO chief lottery officer, said Ancor Bay Lucky Gaming Corp., which operates STL in Leyte, reported only P184,950 in gross sales in June. White Cliff Corp., which operates in Southern Leyte, reported only P14,260 in gross sales in the same month.

Delantar said the low sales could be attributed to the people?s lack of familiarity with STL. Bettors, she said, were more familiar with lotto.

Sources in the know in PCSO, however, said the low sales could be the result of underreporting or nonremittance by STL franchise holders.

STL promises winnings of P800 per P1 bet.

Delantar said STL was one of the sources of government revenue for charity.

?The PCSO is mandated to come up with lotteries for us to raise funds. And one of them is the STL. It is legal,? she said. ?We are only offering an option for our people.?

The Catholic Church in the region had strongly opposed STL, saying it would make the poor poorer.

Bishop Oscar Cruz, head of a group vehemently opposed to jueteng and other forms of gambling promoted to generate revenues for the government, said President Aquino should scrap STL. Carla P. Gomez and Joey Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas