MANILA, July 20 — National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Dante Gierran vowed to assist the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in the fight against illegal gambling in the country.
Gierran said that the NBI is committed to help PCSO conduct the enforcement operations against those who operates the illegal numbers game and protect the operation of PCSO different gaming products like small town lottery (STL), lotto, keno and others to yield funds to help government.
”We will be helping government to collect taxes ito po ang ginagamit ng ating mahal na Pangulo Duterte at ng kanyang administrasyon (to help the public),” the NBI Director told reporters during the press conference hosted by PCSO on Wednesday.
”Ngayon nga meron tayo probelma sa Marawi. Kailangan natin pagtulung tulungan yun saan ba tayo kukuha ng pera? Hindi lang kailangan na we always seek for the foreign help but we have to resolve generate funds to help the government,” Gierran added.
He said the bureau will continue to help PCSO to investigate and solve more illegal gambling cases.
For his part, General Manager of PCSO, Alexander Balutan said that the PCSO appreciates the initiative and vigilance of the NBI.
Balutan said that the agency already send PHP5 million worth of bottled water and medicine for residents affected by violence in the ravaged city of Marawi City.
He said the aid was on top of assistance already being provided to those who were wounded or afflicted with illness after days of continuous fighting between government troops and local terrorist groups in Marawi City
He said PCSO is one with other government offices in helping President Rodrigo Duterte in his fight against corruption and illegal gambling.
Balutan said that the agency has generated PHP24 billion for the first six months of 2017 or 32.38 percent higher compared to the same period in 2016 with more than PHP18 billion.
The PCSO General Manager said that the agency shared its charity fund more than PHP426 million to offices in the congressional districts (PHP31.9 million) or 0.25 percent; cities and towns (PHP185 million) or 3.0 percent; police stations (PHP154.40 million) or 2.5 percent; and provincial governments (PHP54.56 million) or 0.75 percent as required by the Implementing Rules and Regulations.
The Agency remains focused on the expansion of STL to generate Serbisyo, Trabaho and Laro to more Filipinos.
Balutan said that STL from January to June this year, PCSO earned PHP6.17 billion or an increase of 149.36 percent as against the same period of last year.
”Our STL is earning more than PHP1 billion a month. Our expanded STL resulted in legitimate jobs for 206,181 STL employees, a 71.03 percent increase last year. Of the said total, 192 are field sales representatives/agents, while 14,803 of them are field sales supervisors,” said Balutan.
Balutan explained that 30 percent of the sales from STL goes to charity fund of PCSO which shall be used for the various health and charitable programs of the agency, including the Individual Medical Assistance Program (IMAP) wherein more than 300,000 Filipinos benefitted in 2016. (Christopher Lloyd T. Caliwan/ Vanessa Panesa (OJT)/PNA)