‘Loterya’ tagged STL, ‘jueteng’ clone

DAGUPAN CITY—The government’s upcoming Loterya ng Bayan will be no different from small town lottery that had become a cover for “jueteng”, retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said.

Cruz also said receiving shares from STL is no different from accepting payola from “jueteng” because many of the people involved in STL operations are also behind the illegal numbers racket.

“As a matter of rule, STL and jueteng are close partners because most of those who have franchises for STL are also jueteng [financiers]. STL, therefore, uses also the structure of jueteng operations—from ‘cobrador’ (collector), ‘cabo’ (manager), ‘rebisador’ (bet reviewer), ‘pagador’ (paymaster) and operator,” said Cruz, chair of the Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Sugal (People’s Crusade Against Gambling).

Cruz said checks made by his group proved that when there is STL in an area, the STL bet collectors have two bet sheets—one for STL and another for jueteng.

Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Chair Margarita Juico did not reply on Saturday when sought for reactions to Cruz’s comments.

In Pampanga, which former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. once described as the “Vatican of jueteng,” Reps. Aurelio Gonzales (third district) and Anna York Bondoc (fourth district) said they have not received any share from STL.

The PCSO’s plan to replace STL with Loterya has not received any protest from local governments and the Philippine National Police although their total shares from the new game’s charity fund are set only at 12.5 percent.

This is down by 10 percent from 22.5 percent under STL, copies of PCSO documents showed. Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon and Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon