PCSO chair agrees to meet Bato on ‘anemic’ PNP drive vs gambling

PCSO Chairman Jose Jorge Corpuz. PHOTO BY EDWIN BACASMAS / INQUIRER

Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) chair Jose Jorge Corpuz said he and other officials were willing to meet with Philippine National Police chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa anytime soon to “clear gray areas” in their fight against illegal gambling.

The statement came after PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan criticized the PNP’s antigambling efforts as “anemic” and threatened to cut the PNP’s share in PCSO revenues with other law enforcement agencies.

He said the agency might also give a share to the National Bureau of Investigation and Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“Let us lay all our cards on the table and not hide any card. If [the arrests of illegal gamblers] were anemic, we have to double our efforts,” Dela Rosa was quoted as saying in an interview.

In response, Corpuz agreed to meet with Dela Rosa as soon as possible.

“Sitting down with PCSO is an opportunity for both parties to clarify issues for the smooth implementation of STL (Small Town Lottery)” and “clear gray areas between the legal STL and the illegal numbers game,” Balutan said.

Corpuz said police assistance in the STL expansion program of PCSO was “very indispensable and critical” but the NBI and the AFP also deserved a share in STL revenues for the medical and hospital needs of its personnel, Corpuz added.

PCSO gave the PNP P180 million in 2016 and around P154 million during the first quarter of 2017 as its share from the revenue of the PCSO.

The funds are part of the 2.5-percent share the PNP gets from PCSO for medical and health programs and not for PNP operations, Corpuz clarified.