MORE NEWS, CABANATUAN CITY

Nueva Ecija, Angeles execs press STL to stop illegal jueteng operations
BY FRED ROXAS

CABANATUAN CITY -- Nueva Ecija and Angeles City officials are now supporting Small Town Lottery operations in a bid to stop illegal jueteng operations.

In Cabanatuan, the 14-man Sangguniang Panlalawigan and the provincial chapter of the League Municipalities of the Philippines supported the grant of a franchise to a former operator of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office – approved STL, paving the way for its return to the province, amid the row over the resurgence of jueteng.

In separate resolutions, the SP led by Vice Gov. Edward Thomas Joson and the 27-man LMP headed by San Antonio Mayor Arvin Salonga expressed full support to the renewal of the franchise of Green 2 Corp. (G2C).

The SP, on motion of board member Daniel Salazar, passed resolution 51 recommending to PCSO to authorize G2C to manage and operate STL.

The passage of the resolution was made during a recent regular session of the SP presided by senior board member and movie actor Rommel Padilla.

It was attended by 11 board members.

The vice governor, who is the presiding officer of the SP, however, did not attend the session.

In its resolution, the SP said it recognized the assistance extended by G2C, to charitable, civic and social programs in the province.

The LMP, in a separate resolution, acknowledged G2C’s contributions even in counter-insurgency operations of the military and the police, as well as employment it generated for Novo Ecijanos.

Seventeen of the 27 municipal mayors signed the resolution.

G2C started operations in July 2006 amid protests from the Catholic Church, which warned that allowing STL could promote a culture of gambling.

However, it was allowed to operate after it paid a P10-million bond to the PCSO.

When then Gov. Aurelio Umali took over the Capitol, G2C stopped operations. A few days later, jueteng operations resumed, sparking protests from local chief executives who complained that STL replaced illegal gambling.

In Angeles City, the sangguniang panglungsod adopted a resolution describing as illegal Mayor Francis “Blue-boy” Nepomuceno’s order stopping STL operations here.

In the SP resolution sponsored by Councilor Willie Rivera, the councilors asked the office of the city mayor and the police not to disrupt STL games.

Voting 8-2 with one abstention, the SP, in a recent session, approved the resolution “declaring the closure of the STL agent of the PCSO in Angeles City as illegal.”

The resolution also ordered the chief of the business permit and licensing the division to open the establishment and public official and members of the police station to refrain from further committing acts which would disrupt the legitimate and peaceful operation of the STL.

The city information office to date, failed to return calls and text messages to reporters on the reaction of Nepomuceno to the resolution.

The councilors who approved the resolution were Efren de la Cruz, jay Sangil, Maricel Morales, Ruben Maniago, Rudy Simeon, Dan Lacson, Pogs Suller, and River, all members of the majority bloc.

But top Councilor Ric Zalamea, also a member of the majority abstained.

Two members of the minority bloc, councilors Ares Yabut and Pitong del Rosario, voted against the resolution.

Rosario, an ally of Nepomuceno, took up the cudgels for the mayor. He said the council should not further discuss the STL controversy, which had been tackled in the last four successive council sessions.

“If they want to file charges against the mayor so be it. Let the higher court (court of law) take care of the STL problem. This SP session is not the venue,” Del Rosario said.