CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) reminded the new authorized agent corporation of the Small Town Lottery (STL) in this city and Misamis Oriental to carry out their corporate social responsibility and help people in need.
PCSO-Misamis Oriental OIC-Branch Manager Divina Salvacion (third from left), with Hexaprime Inc. officials, answers questions from the media during a press conference in Cagayan de Oro City on Monday, October 23. (Franck Dick Rosete)
PCSO-Misamis Oriental OIC-Branch Manager Divina Salvacion urged Hexaprime Inc., the new STL operator, to formulate a plan of programs for the next year, considering that they are new to the industry.
“We cannot program the calamities, but there should be programs and activities that they can do aside from those (programs to be conducted during) calamities, like, maybe they can do quarterly, or who will they help? Maybe those cancer patients and/or those (children) who have been left to the orphanage,” Salvacion said on Monday, October 23.
Salvacion also reminded the company to follow the STL Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) to have a smooth operational flow, saying that following the IRR will guide them and prevent them from committing violations.
During a press conference on Monday, the distance restrictions under the IRR were highlighted, which says that an authorized STL booth must be 200 meters away from any lotto outlet, it must be 100 meters away from any religious structure, and it must also be 100 meters away from any day-care center, elementary school, and high school.
Rhino Perez, legal consultant of Hexaprime Inc., said they received the authority to operate on October 17 and started operations that day.
The previous operator’s contract, Salvacion said, was terminated, and, as a result, PCSO-Misamis Oriental had no revenue for the last three months. The start of Hexaprime’s STL operations, she said, is a huge help to the agency in performing its mandate.
Salvacion said the previous STL operator here filed a case against PCSO because of some problems.
She provided no further details as the case is ongoing in the Court of Appeals (CA) and at present, the PCSO has not received a decision from the Appelate court.
PCSO-Misamis Oriental OIC-Branch Manager Divina Salvacion answers questions from the media in an interview after a press conference in Cagayan de Oro City on Monday, October 23. (Franck Dick Rosete)
Delbert John Barsaga, another legal consultant of Hexaprime Inc., said they will strictly monitor all their booths in compliance with the IRR.
“In fact, to ensure that, we also have a CSR (customer service representative) hotline that can be seen on our Facebook page. Any complaint pertaining to the STL operation can be filed or brought up there, and we will ensure that any concerns from our bettors will be rectified and addressed immediately,” Barsaga said.
Perez added that they will do their best to avoid the problems encountered by the previous operator.
As to its corporate social responsibility, the company is still finalizing its plans to give back to the community, but they might be considering helping a certain community or schools, said Barsaga.
PCSO-Misamis Oriental has inspected more or less 60 authorized STL booths in this city and almost 75 in Misamis Oriental. Majority of these are owned by Hexaprime. The company issued a Certificate to Operate PCSO STL Payout Station to each booth for bettors to determine its legitimacy.
PCSO-Misamis Oriental, which covers this city and Camiguin, has been coordinating with the Philippine National Police and local government units in apprehending illegal STL outlets.
The PCSO branch, which only has eight personnel, is also looking into the possibility of hiring additional staff, especially after the barangay elections on October 30, to hasten STL booth inspection since there is only one individual conducting the activity.