Gaming firm in Camarines Sur denies fronting for ‘jueteng’

Last week, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said he would ask the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to revoke Evenchance’s license after the raids that resulted in the arrest of 51 employees allegedly running a jueteng operation instead of STL. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

A gaming firm running the  small town lottery (STL) in Camarines Sur has cried foul over the arrest of its employees and sales agents for purportedly collecting bets for the illicit numbers game “jueteng.”

In a statement issued on the weekend, Evenchance Gaming Corp. denied the company was  a front for jueteng  in parts of Camarines Sur, as it decried as illegal the separate raids conducted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on the gaming firm’s STL substations in Pili, Calabanga, and Bato towns on March 23.

“The DILG raiding teams presented no search or arrest warrants and immediately seized the money on the tables and even the personal money of the employees and sales agents,” said Osler Luis Canlas, Evenchance president.

Canlas said Evenchance had a franchise to operate the STL  in Camarines Sur.

Last week, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said he would ask the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to revoke Evenchance’s license after the raids that resulted in the arrest of 51 employees allegedly running a jueteng operation instead of STL.

“We have gathered substantial evidence that would prove that Evenchance has violated the terms and conditions of its franchise. That firm is operating jueteng under the cover of PCSO’s STL franchise,” Robredo had said.

Canlas said the Evenchance outlets the  DILG team raided “are publicly conspicuous business establishments.”

He said the employees and bet collectors were all wearing uniforms and identification cards prescribed by the PCSO.

“The STL substations were complete with PCSO STL signages, business permits and displayed copies of the deed of authority from the PCSO,” Canlas said.

He said Evenchance also had a copy of a temporary restraining order issued by Iriga City Judge Rogelio Dacara preventing the PCSO from revoking Evenchance’s deed of authority.

In a letter to PCSO General Manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas III, Canlas sought assistance in resolving the matter.

Since it started operating in Camarines Sur two years ago, Canlas said Evenchance had remitted close to P62 million in taxes and shares to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, PCSO and Philippine National Police.