CLARK FREEEPOT -- The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has expressed confidence that it can bid out this year the P10.906-billion Nationwide Online Lottery System (NOLS) project to upgrade the more than 20-year-old equipment being used for the lotto games draws by a provider.
PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan said the bidding for the project was stalled since last year by court cases filed by the Philippine Gaming Management Corporation (PGMC), a Malaysian-controlled firm.
Balutan however said that there is a “light at the end of the tunnel” after the provider expressed to cooperate.
“I’ve been informed that PGMC will withdraw all their cases in the courts, also at the request of the PCSO so that we can proceed with the bidding for the NOLS,” Balutan said.
The project aims for centralized technology systems for PCSO’s lottery games draws for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
At present, PGMC is the service provider for Luzon, while the Pacific Online Systems Corporation (POSC) conducts draws for Visayas and Mindanao. Both firms are listed in the Philippines Stock Exchange (PSE).
But their Equipment Lease Agreements (ELAs) are going to expire in the middle of this year.
In July 2017, Presiding Judge Maximo de Leon of the Makati City Regional Trial Court, Branch 143, granted temporary restraining order (TRO) in favor of PGMC against the NOLS bidding participated by at least 17 firms who bought bid documents.
The court action dismayed the officials and employees of PCSO because they said the state-of-the-art lottery systems would give wider market share that will guarantee government funds and that cost cheaper than the current lottery lease system.
Balutan said the lottery systems and technology upgrade would also enhance the capability of the more than 10,000 lotto outlets nationwide supervised by PCSO.
“We’ve got to have state-of-the-art systems and technology for our lottery games,” Balutan said.
He also pointed out that the bidding would be the first ever in the history of PCSO.
“Because previously, it was just an ELA, merely equipment lease agreement. There was no bidding done when they were tapped in 1996. Their (PGMC and POSC) ELAs will terminate by July and August this year, respectively," Balutan said.
“Through this bidding, we can upgrade the quality of the system and equipment and games so that our nationwide lotto system can be modernized, because we have fallen behind with the lotto systems in other countries," Balutan added.