PCSO execs ‘bribed’ with cars by jueteng operators

Some officials of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) received luxury cars from big time jueteng operators who also own franchises of the government-run Small Town Lottery (STL), whistle-blower Sandra Cam told a congressional hearing Monday. Cam said it is possible that STL was being used as front for jueteng operations because some of the directors of the PCSO allowed it to. “There is something very wrong on how STL is being operated and how STL is practically on the hands of the jueteng operators. I was made to understand that one jueteng operator has 14 corporations in different names and holding a franchise of STL," Cam told the House committee on games and amusement. She said some of these officials who received Mini Cooper approximately worth P2 million each were “remnants" from the Arroyo administration. “Look for those who received the Mini-Cooper and you will know who I am referring to," Cam told lawmakers as well as PCSO officials who were present during the hearing. PCSO chairman Jose Ferdinand Rojas refused to comment on the matter when asked by reporters after the hearing. The government established STL in 2006 to stop jueteng operations. Jueteng vs STL Laguna Rep. Justin Mark Chipeco said the issue between jueteng and STL boils down to competitiveness, with jueteng having the edge as far as prizes and earnings are concerned. “Jueteng is more competitive," Chipeco said, noting that pot prize for jueteng is P900 per one peso bet while STL only gives P800 per peso bet. Because of this, the PCSO vowed to make STL more competitive with the issuance of the new implementing rules and regulations (IRR) that the agency’s board of directors is currently discussing. Asked by reporters after the hearing on when the IRR will be finalized, Rojas said, “Hopefully within the week." “Maraming pagbabago. Babaguhin yung payoff amount mas malaki kaysa sa jueteng, baka ang gagawin maging P900 or P950 or even higher ang STL (There will be a lot of changes, like the payoff amount. We will make it higher than in jueteng, perhaps P900 to P950 or even higher)," he said. Professional collectors He said they would also make sure that STL operators “are not really jueteng operators but ordinary legitimate business people from the provinces that can really operate and give the full and maximum to PCSO and the government." STL workers will also be professionalized, Rojas said. “We want to professionalize the collectors by imposing and mandating on these agent corporations that they be paid the right wages, be given Philhealth, SSS, Pag-IBIG, and other benefits befitting legitimate workers," Rojas said. He said the new IRR, once implemented, will be able to eradicate jueteng and increase PCSO revenue by up to 400 percent. “I believe 100 percent with the new IRR, we will be able to eradicate jueteng. Even increase our revenue by 200, 300 or 400 percent." In 2006 when STL was first introduced to the public, the government received P708 million from its operations. It increased in 2007 and 2008 with P1.9 billion and P2.3 billion, respectively. However, the remittance decreased in 2009 with only P1.9 billion. As of August 2010, the government received P1.4 billion from STL operations. Back with a vengeance? During the same hearing, retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, a known anti-jueteng crusader, said there is a resurgence of jueteng operations in the country under the barely three-month-old Aquino administration. “The jueteng flourished in the present. There is a resurgence. That is what we get from the ground," Cruz said in response to San Juan Rep. JV Ejercito’s question on whether jueteng has minimized or flourished in the past administration. Ejercito expressed alarm over Cruz’s answer, noting that President Benigno Aquino III is packaging his administration as one that threads the “daang matuwid" (straight way). Cruz said he is not hopeful that the current administration could stay true to its “daang matuwid" credo. “I’m having my doubts about daang matuwid. I still entertain the hope that somehow, somebody will thread the daang matuwid. I’m not hopeless but I’m not also that hopeful," he said. The retired bishop did not name names when asked who the top jueteng operators in the country are, saying he had already submitted a list and that he had an agreement with Manila Rep. Amado Bagatsing, chairman of the committee, not to drop any names. Jueteng godfather, lords He said there is no “jueteng godfather" now, only more “jueteng lords" as jueteng operations have been broken down in smaller units. “There are jueteng operators now who were not jueteng lords before. Frankly the challenge now is jueteng lords are scattered," the retired prelate said. Among those present in the hearing were former Pampanga governor Eddie Panlilio; Senior Inspector Gilbert Cruz, officer-in-charge of the Laguna provincial police; and PCSO officials. Cruz, Panlilio and Cam bared that STL operations will not be able to eradicate the illegal numbers game because the STL franchisees are also the operators of jueteng. “It (STL) must be reviewed, reevaluated and reformatted if necessary," Cruz said, adding that he believes STL, in its present form, is a lost cause.