STL to Stay
Contrary to reports, the Small Town Lottery (STL) continues to operate in Negros Occidental, with Super Lucky Beagler Inc. as its operator, a Provincial Capitol official disclosed.
Manuel Escalante III, executive assistant of Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., made the clarification amid rumors that STL has ceased operations in the province.
Escalante, a former mayor of Manapla town which hosts an STL outlet, said the rumors could only come from groups involved in illegal gambling operations.
“It could be from illegal operators envious of STL,” he said.
Escalante said only the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) can stop the operations of the STL, which is a legal numbers game.
“If ever there is a change in the STL (operations), it should come from the PCSO and from the government.”
The PCSO authorizes a private corporation to operate the STL in certain province or city through a contract.
The PCSO Iloilo District Office has also issued a statement, saying they have not issued an order to stop the STL operations in Negros Occidental.
“In Manapla, those who circulate the rumors are previous employees out to discredit Lucky Beagler,” he said.
In October last year, George Yap, Super Lucky Beagler representative to Negros Occidental, said in a statement that Resolution No. 882, Series of 2010 of the Board of Directors of PCSO had approved the regularization of their operation in the province for a period of three years.
The operation of STL in the province of Negros Occidental is legal despite the fact that none of the mayors of the towns and cities had granted it permission to do so, Yap said.
He added that STL is “exempt from VAT, 3 percent percentage tax, business/mayor’s permit and/or licenses from the local government units.”*
