Sison: Small Town Lottery, Front of Jueteng Lords?
May 14, 2011
THE Small Town Lottery (STL) is allegedly being used as a “front” by jueteng operators to hide their illegal activities in many parts of the country, according to two lawmakers.
This prompted Reps. Rufus B. Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro) and Maximo B. Rodriguez Jr. (Party-list, Abante Mindanao) to file House Bill 3750, which requires STL operators to get the approval of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and the local government units (LGUs) before they can start their operations.
PCSO general manager Ferdinand Rojas II himself admitted that the STL was being used as a front by some jueteng operators, according to Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said some governors and mayors have ordered the stoppage or suspension of STL operations in their areas invoking their alleged absolute decentralized powers to regulate any business within their territorial jurisdiction pursuant to the Local Government Code of 1991.
However, upon the request of PCSO Chairperson Margarita Juico, the Department of Justice issued an opinion ruling that LGUs have no power to stop the operations of the STL and other similar lotteries in cities and towns.
Rodriguez said the DOJ further ruled that the authority of city or municipal governments to regulate businesses within their respective areas of jurisdiction under Section 447 and 458 of the Local Government Code of 1991 does not include the power over operations of national government agencies and its instrumentalities.
It means that LGUs have no power to issue business permits, licenses to the agencies and instrumentalities of the State, of which PCSO is one, nor demand a permit or collect license fees incidental to the issuance of such permits or licenses.
The DOJ opinion may have weakened the LGUs because they are now powerless to act against gambling lords who use the legal STL as a front for illegal gambling, like jueteng.
Under the bill, operators of STL and other lotteries sanctioned by the PCSO are mandated to first secure a permit from the LGU where they plan to operate before they can start their operations.
The measure mandates the PCSO to first secure from applicants of STL franchises the approval of the LGU where they plan to operate before granting the franchise.
The bill further provides that all STL franchise holders upon the approval of the proposed act are given 60 days to secure the necessary permit from the LGU where they are operating in order for them to be able to continue their operations.
Despite being named as such, the PCSO’s small town lottery STL or any other existing lottery games cannot be regulated by the LGUs, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said.
De Lima made this clarification in response to the letter of PCSO chairman Margarita Juico, asking whether LGU chief executives have the “authority to summarily and unilaterally stop or suspend the operations of PCSO’s STL and similar lotteries in their areas of jurisdiction.”
She also reiterated the DOJ’s views in Legal Opinion No. 74 issued in 1995 in order to guide the PCSO in addressing the issues it raised pertaining to its STL and other lottery operations.
In the said legal opinion, the DOJ stressed that while Section 447 and 458 of the Local Government Code of 1991 gives the municipality or city the power to regulate businesses within their area of jurisdiction, such power does not cover national government agencies and its instrumentalities.
“Put differently, it means LGUs have no power to issue business permits, licenses to the agencies and instrumentalities of the State, of which the PCSO is one, nor demand or collect permit/license fees incident to the issuance of such permits/licenses,” the 1995 DOJ legal opinion said. “Its duly appointed sales agents are, as you have pointed out, mere extensions of the PCSO, and should, like the PCSO, be also considered exempt from the licensing authority of the LGUs where they operate,” it said.
The PCSO made this request to the DOJ after receiving word that some governors and mayors have ordered the stoppage or suspension of STL operations in their areas, invoking their decentralized powers to regulate any business within their territorial jurisdiction pursuant to the Local Government Code of 1991. The PCSO stressed that this cannot be done by LGU chiefs since they did not have “neither power nor authority to suspend or stop lottery games sanctioned or operated by the PCSO” as stated by Republic Act No. 1169, the operating charter of the gaming agency and certain decisions of the Supreme Court.
But De Lima declined to render a full opinion on the matter, citing Executive Order No. 596 which states that the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) shall be the principal law officer of government-owned and controlled corporations, and government instrumentality vested with corporate powers. The DOJ chief also said that Section 1 of Administrative Order 130, mandates that all legal matters pertaining to GOCCs, their subsidiaries, corporate offsprings and government-acquired asset corporations be referrece: d to and handled by the OGCC, unless their respective charters expressly name the Office of the Solicitor General as head legal counsel.
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/opinion/2011/05/14/sison-small-town-lottery-front-jueteng-lords-155412
Recent surge of investments going into Clark Philippines drained Clark Freeport of prime land available for long-term leases. Investors now look for partnerships and acquisition opportunities with existing businesses located in Clark Philippines.
Three new casinos, another world-class 36-hole golf course, several new hotels and resorts of varying class of luxury have opened in Philippines Clark Freeport over the last six months. Samsung Electronics just broke ground for a US$5 billion electronics plant, coincidentally in a location adjacent to the US$2 billion plant of US chip manufacturer Texas Instruments. Hundreds of hectares of prime land in the 4200-hectare main zone of Clark Freeport have quickly been occupied. Almost the entire central business district has gone off the map of available land in this fast-growth investment destination.
With its near-zero crime rate, low pollution levels, absence of traffic congestion and a favorable tax structure, Clark Freeport is well known among foreign investors as the destination of choice. Now that the Clark International Airport (DMIA) has flung into full operations with dozens of flights linking Clark to all major cities in Asia and some beyond, Clark Freeport, Pampanga has come of age.
This web site contains articles and information that will be helpful to visitors, residents and tourists traveling out of town from Manila on a short getaway to Subic, Angeles City, Pampanga and Clark Philippines. There are several web sites that contain information that might also be pertinent to what is happening in North Luzon.
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For assistance with lodgings, accommodations, hotels and resorts near Manila in Subic, Pampanga, Angels City and Clark Philippines log on to http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com
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