A cacophony of feelings; frustrations, emotions, and reactions were felt by the public last Friday when President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the stoppage of the most famous Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Lotto Sweepstakes. No one ever thought of it being lifted.
President Rodrigo Duterte, late last Friday, July 26, 2019, ordered all PCSO outlets to close and to halt its operations. He said that ongoing corruption has been happening in the agency and that he wanted to cleanse it.
After announcing that he will be firing more than thirty (30) people in the Bureau of Customs, the PCSO is next.
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When did PCSO Operations resume?
Tuesday night, the 30th of July, four (4) days after President “Digong” Duterte ordered all PCSO outlets nationwide to stop its operations, President Rodrigo Duterte orders the lifting of the PCSO suspension.
Salvador Panelo, Presidential Spokesperson, said that it was the President’s directive to lift the PCSO suspension.
As per the advice of Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, the suspension of Lotto operations has been ordered lifted by the President.”
In addition to that, Panelo said that franchise and outlet owners can be merry because they can resume with their operations; and that this directive is implemented and should be followed as soon as possible.
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Franchise holders and operators of Lotto outlets may now resume with their operations. The lifting of the suspension of Lotto operations takes effect immediately.”
How about other PCSO games?
Although the PCSO suspension has been lifted, other PCSO games such as Peryahan ng Bayan, KENO, and Small Town Lotteries (STLs) are still suspended for further evaluation and investigation.
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As per Panelo, these games still have pending investigations of illegal and criminal activities as well as corrupt practices.They will remain suspended until the time that the Office of the President announces the results from the probe; then that will be the time that they’re also lifted.
Why was the PCSO suspension lifted?
After the investigation, as per Medialdea, the government found no irregularities that direct to corruption in the operations of PCSO outlets.
Investigators found no [irregularities] in the conduct of its operation, its sanctity remained untainted and proper regulatory rules followed.”
This is why the PCSO lotto sweepstakes agency is confident even after the PCSO suspension took place.
Investigations about the accusations were done on Monday. The Malacañang swore that they will be doing swift and efficient investigation so that the return or resumption of PCSO games will be faster.
What should the government worry about?
Now that they are aware that no wrongdoings are happening, Menardo Guevarra, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary said that this is just one (1) side of the problem.
He added that the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) probe should emphasize on the fact if the Philippine government was and is getting its correct and appropriate share of the earnings from the gaming operations of PCSO.
But that’s only one side of it. The other side will probably focus on what’s happening inside the PCSO. That will be an investigation of its own officials and employees.”
He said that the NBI would have to find this out as it is internal.
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In case you’re wondering, the PCSO gaming suspension left over 120,000 people without jobs. However, Panelo said that most people, if not all, are not part of the poor demographic of the country. Why? Because when there was no suspension, these people were able to save enough funds for them to live.
I’m sure that those affected are not that poor. They earned a lot during those times that they were operating, so I’m sure they have spare funds to live on.”
Are you a craze fan of PCSO’s lotto and other gaming operations? Or were you a franchise owner of PCSO? Well, regular PCSO sweepstakes have already been resumed; STLs and other gaming operations are still under investigation, however.
Let’s hope and wait for the results of the probe and the notice from the Office of the President.
