PCSO adds five more ‘STL’ pilot sites

The small-town lottery (STL) is now being pilot tested by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in five more areas in Luzon.

Lawyer Paul Lentejas, PCSO spokesman for STL, said the new pilot sites are Lucena City, Laguna, San Pablo City, Occidental Mindoro and Bataan.

The PCSO had earlier implemented the STL in Angeles City, and Pampanga and Quezon provinces. The pilot testing scheduled in Quezon City did not push through due to the strong opposition from Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr.

In an earlier interview, PCSO chairman Sergio Valencia said the agency was planning to pilot test STL in 10 areas in one year.

After a year, the PCSO will assess the viability of the STL as a replacement for jueteng.

Through the STL, the PCSO expects to capture jueteng’s P10-billion underground economy and promised transparency in handling revenues.

"We are accountable for whatever is coming in and coming out of the PCSO. We have always been transparent," he said, as he gave assurances that the PCSO is subject to full auditing by the Commission on Audit (COA).

According to Valencia, the STL is also expected to generate jobs for millions of Filipinos, as it has done for 15,000 people during the first month of pilot testing in Quezon province.

As this developed, police authorities in Pampanga had reported receiving their first share of revenues from STL operations in Angeles City.

Chief Superintendent Alejandro Lapinid, Central Luzon police director, personally received yesterday two cheques amounting to P150,000 and P70,0000, respectively, from the PCSO.

Lapinid told reporters that he will bring the two cheques to the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters at Camp Crame in Quezon City for disposition.

The STL in Angeles City started operations a month ago and it was the first time that the police are getting their share of the profits.

Under PCSO ruling, five percent of gross sales of STL will be given to the police while another five percent will be turned over to the local government. — Sheila Crisostomo, Ric Sapnu