18 October 2005
Agbayani on Loterya: ‘Not so fast, PCSO!’
By DANNY O. SAGUN
PIA Pangasinan Infocenter
LINGAYEN -- Gov. Victor E. Agbayani is against the holding of an experiment for the proposed Loterya ng Bayan here in Pangasinan, his provincial administrator said Wednesday.
Lawyer Virgilio Solis said the governor made clear his position in a talk with him on the matter right after a national newspaper recently carried a story about the proposed lottery which seeks to replace the illegal numbers game jueteng.
''Kailangan ng masusing pag-aaral diyan at hindi basta ipatupad yan'' he told a radio interview in reaction to reports that the sangguniang panlalawigan was dead set on approving a resolution endorsing the plan of a private group to conduct the lottery experiment in the province.
Admitting the authority of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes to hold such experiment, he asked the agency however to spare the province from an experimental run of the lottery. ''Sa ibang lugar na lang, huwag dito sa ating probinsya,'' he stressed echoing the governor's position.
Board Member Emmanuel Carancho, who authored the resolution, asked the board to schedule public hearings on the matter, which is expected to draw again sharp reactions from the religious, academe and other sectors as was the case when the plan to put up a casino in Urdaneta City came out some years ago.
Ironically, the man leading a crusade against all forms of gambling particularly jueteng comes from the Lingayen-Dagupan diocese, Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who became a national figure with his unrelenting campaign.
Cruz had sounded off earlier after the Senate hearings his concern about the government's plan to replace jueteng with a PCSO-sanctioned numbers game. With the emergence of ‘loterya’, his warning appears to have been validated.
The proponent is Numbers Numbers Corporation represented by businessman Rolando Dee of Mangaldan. (DOS/PIA)
PIA Pangasinan Infocenter
LINGAYEN -- Gov. Victor E. Agbayani is against the holding of an experiment for the proposed Loterya ng Bayan here in Pangasinan, his provincial administrator said Wednesday.
Lawyer Virgilio Solis said the governor made clear his position in a talk with him on the matter right after a national newspaper recently carried a story about the proposed lottery which seeks to replace the illegal numbers game jueteng.
''Kailangan ng masusing pag-aaral diyan at hindi basta ipatupad yan'' he told a radio interview in reaction to reports that the sangguniang panlalawigan was dead set on approving a resolution endorsing the plan of a private group to conduct the lottery experiment in the province.
Admitting the authority of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes to hold such experiment, he asked the agency however to spare the province from an experimental run of the lottery. ''Sa ibang lugar na lang, huwag dito sa ating probinsya,'' he stressed echoing the governor's position.
Board Member Emmanuel Carancho, who authored the resolution, asked the board to schedule public hearings on the matter, which is expected to draw again sharp reactions from the religious, academe and other sectors as was the case when the plan to put up a casino in Urdaneta City came out some years ago.
Ironically, the man leading a crusade against all forms of gambling particularly jueteng comes from the Lingayen-Dagupan diocese, Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who became a national figure with his unrelenting campaign.
Cruz had sounded off earlier after the Senate hearings his concern about the government's plan to replace jueteng with a PCSO-sanctioned numbers game. With the emergence of ‘loterya’, his warning appears to have been validated.
The proponent is Numbers Numbers Corporation represented by businessman Rolando Dee of Mangaldan. (DOS/PIA)
