By Shelly A. Busque
The greatest gift one can give to society would be his/her contributions in making the lives of others better- when we touch lives by our simple act of charity and helping those who are less fortunate and in need.
This is one of the main thrusts of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), the principal government agency raising and providing funds for health programs, medical assistance and services, and charities of national character through the conduct of charity sweepstakes races, lotteries, and other similar activities.
Over the years, PCSO has been active and keen in fighting and eradicating illegal numbers game, Jueteng in particular, which continues to mask and thrive in some areas especially in the rural areas where there are already Authorized STL Agents (ASAs) operating Small Town Lottery (STL). On 17th of June 2019, a forum dubbed as “PCSO, ASAs, PNP and NBI shared role/collaboration against Globaltech Illegal Operations of Peryahan ng Bayan and other illegal numbers game” was held addressing the shared roles/collaboration against Globaltech operations of Peryahan ng Bayan and other illegal numbers games among PCSO, ASAs, AACs, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Philippine National Police (PNP) at Bayanihan Center in Pasig City.
Present in the said forum were PCSO Chairperson and Interim General Manager Anselmo Simeon P. Pinili, PCSO Board Member Sandra Cam, PCSO Board Secretary Wesley A. Barayuga, Executive Assistant VI Dr. Alex Castillo, Assistant General Manager for Gaming, Product Development and Marketing Sector Arnel N. Casas, Assistant General Manager for Branch Operations Sector Atty. Lauro A. Patiag and PCSO Department and Branch Managers. Dr. Alex Castillo acted as the facilitator and mediator of the event.
The guests who joined the panel were PNP Deputy Director for Operations PCOL Leo Francisco of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and NBI Special Investigator V Arnel E. Pura.
The main products of the PCSO are the sweepstakes and the lottery games. The Sweepstakes game has been steadily evolving through the years to be able to conform with the changing times to keep the game interesting to all Sweepstakes enthusiasts and to hopefully attract more clients, while maintaining a variety of Sweepstakes products readily available in the market. Various game types have been introduced and other game innovations are constantly being conceptualized, particularly of the traditional and scratch and match variety and the Small Town Lottery (STL) to fight illegal number games in the country.
Photos by Edwin Lovino
