STL ‘bookies’ are thriving, says solon

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SAN PEDRO, Laguna— A congressman from Laguna, who earlier questioned a Small Town Lottery (STL) firm for declining remittances to the government, said the province is now clear of the illegal numbers game “jueteng.”

But Rep. Dan Fernandez (1st district) said the government continued to incur revenue losses from the state-sanctioned STL due to the proliferation of “bookies,” or illegal betting outlets using STL as front.

“We don’t have jueteng anymore, but the problem is bookies,” Fernandez said in a phone interview Wednesday.

Fernandez said while Laguna remains to be among the top provinces with the highest STL remittance to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (with P10 million to P15 million in the first quarter of 2012), the government is still getting less than what it should get.

“For instance, from the supposed P1-million collection of the STL in a day, half of that amount is lost to the bookies,” he said.

Bookies use the same numbers drawn by STL. Illegal bet collectors, referred to as “riders,” use ID cards for STL employees and collect bets that are not remitted to government.

A source, privy to the gambling operations, said former jueteng lords in Laguna took over operations of the bookies, which had lured more bettors than jueteng because the stakes were higher.

Another source from the police said illegal gambling activities continue with the backing of local politicians.

Ramon Preza, owner of the Ramloid Gaming Corp. that has the franchise to operate STL in Laguna, admitted losing as high as 50 percent of his income to bookies, although he declined to give an exact figure.

Late last month, Preza sought the help of Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and, together with Fernandez, discussed plans to stop the operations of bookies.

“I can assure you, at least as far as Laguna is concerned, that there is no more jueteng,” Fernandez said.

In Calabarzon, STL operates in the provinces of Laguna, Batangas and Quezon, while jai alai owned by Meridien Vista Gaming Corp. operates in Rizal and Cavite.