By Jel Santos
The "Peryahan ng Bayan" operators were warned by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) that they will be criminally prosecuted should they not halt the use of the agency's logo and name.
PSCO GM Alexander Balutan
(Joseph Vidal / MANILA BULLETIN)
Alexander Balutan, PCSO general manager, said the agency received reports that the outlets of "Peryahan ng Bayan" still continue their operations while using the name and logo of PCSO.
He stressed that the agency already terminated the deed of authority (DOA) given to PNB, operated by Globaltech Mobile Online Corp. in March 2016.
“Using the PCSO logo to look legitimate in the eyes of the betting public is illegal. Globaltech has no right to use the PCSO logo as PNB is no longer authorized by the agency,” he said in a statement released on Friday.
Balutan added that he will not tolerate the "abuse and use the agency’s name in any form of illegal activities."
“What Globaltech is doing is a big insult to the agency’s name as PNB is operating illegally, competing unfairly with the only authorized and legal numbers game of PCSO, which is the Small Town Lottery (STL)."
A total of 82 companies were given authority by the PCSO to operate STL in their localities and they complied with all the requirements of the agency.
But they are now suffering losses in revenue because of the continued operation of the PNB in different parts of the country, Balutan lamented.
“We have to protect the STL operations as this brings a huge impact in the revenues of PCSO,” Balutan said, saying STL operators are appealing to PCSO to stop the operations of PNB.