PRRD to name corruption ‘culprits’ in gaming activities

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his speech during the inauguration of the Candon City Bypass Road in Ilocos Sur on July 25, 2019. ALFRED FRIAS/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte will identify in due time the “culprits” in the “hydra-headed corruption” in all outlets of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s (PCSO) Lotto, Small Town Lottery (STL) and Peryahan ng Bayan, Malacañang said Saturday.

“Let this be a stern warning to all malefactors in the government, as well as all the enemies of the state. The Duterte presidency will be unrelenting in its war against corruption and unforgiving to the transgressors of the law,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

Effective immediately, the President has ordered all licenses, concessionaires, and franchises issued by the PCSO recalled, canceled, and withdrawn, Panelo confirmed.

Duterte has ordered all gaming activities of the PCSO, including Lotto, STL, and Peryahan ng Bayan, to stop due to “massive corruption” on Friday night.  The President announced the order via a video post on the Presidential Communications Operations Office’s Facebook page.

“All law enforcers are directed to implement the President’s directives with dispatch and without exception. The President is outraged by the discovery of the plunderous machinations of these scoundrels whose insatiable greed is infinite and beyond redemption,” he added.

Stressing that corruption in gaming activities deprives the masses of basic services, Panelo said the “grand conspiracy” among major players and enforcers of these government-sanctioned gaming activities and enterprises must be stopped from cheating the government of its rightful shares.