3 STL collectors nabbed outside of jurisdiction
Three employees of a Small Town Lottery outlet were arrested Wednesday morning while collecting bets inside the Old Public Market in Pototan, Iloilo.
Insp. Charlie Sustento, police chief of Pototan, identified the suspects as Salvador Decilao, 47 ; Fernando Porras, 62; and Lydio Belleza, 48, all residents of Pototan.
Both Decila and Belleza are STL sub-collectors while Porras is a commission supervisor.
The three were arrested for collecting bets outside the STL area of operation.
But Porras said they were made to understand that they are allowed to collect bets even outside of Iloilo City, where STL is legal.
He claimed they were told to show their identification cards once they get arrested.
The Pototan Police Station is set to file charges against the suspects for violation of Presidential Decree 1602 before the Iloilo Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.
But Belleza said that even after they are bailed out, they could not say that they would stop collecting bets for STL.
Meanwhile, Sustento said they are still investigation reports that STL operators have invaded Pototan led by a police senior superintendent as the financier, along with a businessman from Capiz.
Earlier, STL project manager Romualdo Quiñones said Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Board of Directors approved the grant of authority to the Iloilo Small Town Lottery Gaming Corp. to operate the PCSO Small Town Lottery only in Iloilo City
The Super Lucky Beagler Inc. is licensed to operate the STL in the province of Negros Occidental, except in Bacolod City.
Quiñones said the STL has not been launched in any other province or city in the Western Visayas region.
