GENERAL SANTOS CITY — A city council member here called for an investigation into the proliferation of Small Town Lottery (STL) outlets or stations in parts of the city despite a ceiling imposed by the local government.
Councilor Franklin Gacal Jr., chair of the city council’s committee on games and amusements, said Friday he received reports that the number of STL outlets and sub-outlets in the city has grown to almost 300 these past months.
He said such figure is in direct violation of an order issued last June by City Mayor Ronnel Rivera that limited the number of authorized STL outlets within the city’s 26 barangays to just 45.
The mayor issued the order after the city council gave its concurrence to the operations of STL in the city, through the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s (PCSO) franchisee, Trento Gaming and Leisure Corp.
The council set the maximum number of outlets to not more than 110 but issued the authority to Mayor Rivera to determine the exact figure.
Citing a report from the PCSO, Gacal said Trento claimed that it only operates a total of 105 STL stations in the city.
But he said the figure does include the 17 lotto outlets operated by Trento that double as STL stations.
As confirmed by the PCSO, there are also other local lotto outlet operators that applied for authority from Trento to sell STL tickets.
Gacal said that aside from operating outlets beyond the prescribed limit, PCSO and Trento failed to comply with the city government’s directive to submit the list of STL outlets and their locations.
He said the STL operator also failed to comply with the prohibition set by the council regarding the establishment of outlets within 200 meters of religious and educational institutions.
The official cited a complaint lodged before the council by an imam against the operations of an STL outlet close to a mosque in Purok Saludin, Barangay Labangal.
“They are guilty of wanton defiance of the mayor’s directive and the city council’s resolution that gave them privilege to operate in the city. They are acting as if they are above the law and untouchable in the city,” Gacal said.
The councilor said Trento allegedly “under-declared/mis-declared” the actual gross of its lotto stations, depriving the city of its rightful share.
STL operators are mandated to remit 3 percent of their gross sales to local government units.
In the case of Trento, Gacal said PCSO records showed that the combined gross sales of STL outlets in the city only reach an average of nearly PHP260,000 a day.
Placing the number of STL outlets at 250, he said it appears that the income per outlet only reaches PHP1,036 or PHP345 each for three daily draws.
“They are clearly fooling the city government and the people. This must be stopped,” Gacal said. (PNA)
