Oso warns STL 'lords' anew: 'Stay away from the province'
Government-backed Small Town Lottery (STL) operations will have to remain in Iloilo City with any and all applications in Iloilo towns set to be outrightly junked. In fact, for Senior Board Member Domingo Oso, key opponent in the Capitol, the government has no business raising revenues through gambling. Not right too, Oso added, for the government to teach locals "the wrong values when we should espouse the highest legal and moral precepts thus should lead by example."
Oso made the statement when reached for comment on the reported planned entry of STL in the town of Sta. Barbara. Information gathered by The News Today (TNT) disclosed of a pending application in said town though it was not immediately known who the operator is.
A public hearing was held by the Sangguniang Bayan of Sta. Barbara with regard to the said application last week.
"STL is a poor man's game with the operators taking advantage of the vulnerability of the poor to get rich through the game of chance," Oso explained. "If it is approved by the Sta. Barbara municipal government and reviewed by my Committee in the Provincial Board, I will declare it invalid because of the existing provincial resolution against it."
Oso further warned that any form of STL activity including soliciting of bets is deemed illegal punishable under Presidential Decree (PD) 1602 which amended articles 195 to 197 of the Revised Penal Code.
"As far as the province is concerned, we have made our stand against the entry of STL," he added.
As such, STL agents and aficionados are reminded not to set foot in Iloilo towns alongside Oso's similar warning on yet another illegal number game, jueteng or daily-double.
"Jueteng operators will just take the opportunity on the 'leg' of STL and operate clandestinely to the detriment of the general public," Oso ended.
The provincial board's stand is in consonance with the position of Governor Niel Tupas, Sr. which is strongly against any forms of gambling in the province.
Tupas earlier boasted of a massive drive against jueteng making the province jueteng-free.
He also warned that STL bet collectors from the city are off limits to the municipalities. Otherwise, they will be arrested.
STL operations marked its third month in the city with two draws daily. Insiders told TNT that "business is not good" though with expected revenues not met at all.
City Councilor Perla Zulueta also opined that the operation of STL did not put a stop to jueteng.
She said it even worsened as other persons pose as collectors (coredor) for STL when in fact they work for the illegal numbers game.
To note, several coredor of jueteng were recently apprehended by city cops for illegally posing as collectors for STL.
The government legalized STL hoping that it could eradicate jueteng. It was reported, however, that jueteng continues its underground operations despite the existence of STL.