Nueva Vizcaya peace and order council endorses STL

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — To combat the illegal numbers game jueteng, the peace and order council here released a blanket endorsement for the government-endorsed small town lottery (STL).

The peace council gave their unanimous approval to the setting up of STL outlets as a means of iradicating jueteng, which cannot be totally wiped out in the province and the rest of the region.

Gov. Luisa Lloren Cuaresma said the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)-run lottery will help local government units generate additional funds for their various development projects.

The STL cannot take off in other provinces owing to the vehement opposition of church leaders, who said that the STL, no matter its legality, is still another form of gambling.

With the green light from the local peace and order council and with the earlier endorsement by the province’s league of mayors, this landlocked province may yet become the next province to host to the PCSO special project.

However, despite the twin endorsements and with Cuaresma’s open-mind about the new numbers game, the 13-member provincial board, majority of whom are the governor’s political allies, is divided on the issue whether to allow the government-backed lottery.

Earlier, Nueva Ecija Gov. Tomas Joson III ordered the temporary stoppage of the STL project in his province, which border this province in the south, after Church authorities there also opposed the project.