Globaltech: PCSO defied CA on Peryahan games

MANILA, Philippines — The firm behind the Peryahan Ng Bayan (PNB) numbers game has questioned the move of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to defy the Court of Appeals (CA) order allowing its operations to proceed pending resolution of the legal dispute involving their terminated contract.

 Globaltech Mobile Online Corp. asked the PCSO board to abide by the Jan. 15 decision of the CA’s Eighth Division that upheld the status quo ante order (SQA) issued by Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 161 in May 2016 and to reject the misrepresentation made by the agency’s general manager Alexander Balutan.

 It specifically assailed the certification issued by Balutan, which declared the PNB operations as illegal, despite the CA ruling that directed PCSO “to continue sending a PCSO representative daily to the draw centers of Globaltech for the conduct of the Peryahan games.”

 “On the basis of the misplaced interpretation of the general manager, he issued the assailed misleading and inaccurate certification dated Jan. 18, 2019 declaring anew that Peryahan Ng Bayan of Globaltech is illegal and unauthorized,” Globaltech vice president for legal affairs Bernard Vitrolio told PCSO in a three-page letter last Jan. 29.

 Vitrolio explained to the PCSO Board, led by Chairman Anslemo Simeon Pinili, that Balutan’s resolution only reiterated the PCSO Board Resolution 51 in 2016, which terminated the deed of authority (DOA) of Globaltech for the PNB operations, which is currently subject of the SQA issued by Pasig RTC.

 The lawyer stressed that Balutan “purposely omitted” the CA order that affirmed the SQA and which deferred the implementation of the assailed board resolution.

 Globaltech also urged PCSO to abide by the CA order to “forthwith submit themselves to arbitration conformably with the terms of their written agreement.”