Sunday, July 08, 2007 Mayor: STL in Baguio depends on dads’ approval By Rimaliza Opiña
LIKE his predecessor, Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. stressed the operation of Small Town Lottery (STL) here would not be allowed without consultation and approval of concerned offices, especially the City Council.
While aware that STL is sanctioned by the government to eradicate the illegal numbers game like jueteng and masiao, Bautista said the effects of allowing the operation of any form of gambling, be it legal or illegal, have to be assessed so as not to prejudice existing policies of the local government when it comes to gambling.
Vice Mayor Daniel Fariñas, for his part, said the Council would review the application of two entities that applied for a permit to operate in Baguio. He said the decision of the City Council has yet to be known.
A perusal of the Council's agenda for Monday's session does not include a discussion on STL.
The STL concern was previously scheduled by the former Council but was never discussed after former Acting Vice Mayor Leandro Yangot Jr. deleted this in the agenda and decided that the issue be tackled by incoming members of the Council.
STL was first introduced during the Aquino presidency and then re-introduced about two years ago by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
A similar game, the bingo 2-ball, was also introduced during the tenure of former President Joseph Estrada but its implementation was cut-short after he was impeached by Congress and later on deposed via Edsa 2.
The PCSO then came up with STL after receiving requests from the mayors to assist their constituents who have lost jobs after the government intensified its campaign against jueteng.
As part of plans to gain social acceptance, its implementation was slowly introduced in select areas of the country.
STL was pilot tested in Laguna, Quezon Province, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, Angeles City and Quezon City.
The experiment period for STL was supposed to last for one year. Baguio was also included in the shortlist of pilot areas but no franchisee applied for a permit following former Mayor Braulio Yaranon's pronouncement he would not allow the lottery's operation.
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