Department of Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said yesterday that games of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office like lotto and Small Town Lottery will not resume operations until the investigation is completed and those cheating the government of its rightful shares are unmasked for prosecution.
Guevarra had earlier directed the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a probe on PCSO irregularities which became the basis for President Duterte to stop PCSO games starting last Saturday.
“I believe that until this investigation is completed and people responsible for cheating the government have been unmasked, PCSO gaming operations such as lotto and STL, which are otherwise legal, may not resume,” Guevarra said.
Subject of investigation, he said, “are alleged anomalies in the operations of PCSO-licensed gaming operators, particularly the non-remittance of the proper share due the government, including any possible involvement or corrupt practices on the part of PCSO officials and employees.”
Guevarra explained that the President “has the authority to order the suspension, even the termination, of PCSO-licensed gaming operations upon prima facie proof that licensees are not faithfully complying with their legal obligation to remit the correct amount of government’s share in revenues, or that their operations are tainted by fraud, deceit, or corruption.”
He pointed out that a gaming license issued by the PCSO “is not a contractual right but a mere privilege that may be revoked at any time by the State.”
Guevarra said the government is anticipating legal actions, like damage suits, from those affected by the total shut down of all PCSO gaming operations. “Such damage suits are always possible but the government will be ready to handle them,” he said. (Rey Panaligan)
