Closure of 2,000 lotto outlets probed

MANILA, Philippines —   The House of Representatives on Tuesday investigated the closure of some 2,000 lotto outlets by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

The House committee on ways and means earlier received a complaint that PCSO had abruptly shut down lotto outlets “to give way to e-lotto.”

Clariz Imperial, who works for the Philippine Online Lottery Agents Association, lamented that some lotto outlets had been operating for only three months when their contracts were terminated.

“Many of my tellers are now going hungry... They should have given us due process,” she said.

Panel chair Albay Rep. Joey Salceda expressed concern over the welfare of lotto agents and personnel.

“Are you eliminating lotto outlets for e-lotto?” he asked.

PCSO assistant general manager Remeliza Gabuyo denied the accusation, explaining that the closure was due to the PCSO’s transition to the Philippine Lottery System.

“The past management decided that we only procure 6,500 terminals and at that time, we already had 8,500 lotto agents,” she said.

PCSO lawyer Kat Contacto said the contracts of 2,000 lotto agents were terminated since they were “underperforming as far as their sales were concerned.”

No lotto outlets have been shut down due to a ticket cancellation issue or the e-lotto implementation, she added.

Meanwhile, a lone bettor from Pililla, Rizal won the Lotto 6/42 jackpot worth P56.6 million on Tuesday night.

PCSO general manager Melquiades Robles yesterday said the winner correctly guessed the winning combination, 38-20-19-04-16-40.

Second-prize winners, 45 in total, won P24,000 each.

The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law imposes a 20 percent tax on all lotto winnings above P10,000.– Rainier Allan Ronda