STL agents eye 600k employment

Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Alexander Balutan on Tuesday said the 79 Authorized Agent Corporations (AAC) operating the Small Town Lottery (STL) nationwide have hit a record high employment to more than 300,000 and with more AAC-STL applicants set for deliberation and approval by the Board this could double the number of people being employed for this year.

General Manager Alexander Balutan (L) of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office during a media's talk show.

“As of June 2018, the expanded STL has provided 311,436 jobs, a 40-percent increase compared with the same period last year, which is only 222,896 employees,” Balutan said.

Data from the Branch Operations Sector led by Assistant General Manager Remeliza Gabuyo showed that 15,639 are organic STL employees; 269,518 are sales representatives (cobradores); and 26,279 are sales supervisors (caboes).

“This workforce comprises those who could not pass the nitty-gritties of job fairs because of their lack of education, old age, or they are physically disabled,” Gabuyo said.

Of which, five are operating at the National Capital Region, 21 in Northern and Central Luzon, 14 in Southern Tagalog and Bicol Region, 18 in Visayas, and 21 in Mindanao.

STL is a regular game by PCSO authorized by the national government through Section 1 of Republic Act 1169; while AACs are corporations or cooperatives duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), respectively that applied, been duly qualified and expressly authorized by the PCSO to conduct STL in a particular area.

The lottery game was conceptualized and implemented to eradicate the illegal numbers game jueteng being controlled by gambling lords who do not remit taxes to the government.

STL is being supervised by the government through PCSO and they remit taxes to the government.

“These cobradores are earning more than P7,000 up to 8,000 a month, which is good enough to feed their families. By the end of the year, STL workforce is projected to double by 600,000. We saved them from vices (e.g. drugs) and from being exploited by criminals. At least we are giving our countrymen the opportunity to have a clean and decent job, and it’s not coming from illegal,” Balutan said.

In the first semester of 2018, STL registered a whopping P12,336,974.04 billion, up by 146.85 percent or P7.4-billion increase compared with the same period last year.

While Balutan admitted that there are STL operators who failed to remit their total Presumptive Monthly Retail Receipt (PMRR) as committed, the agency has already started introducing internal controls to address it.

“We required all AAC-STL with sales shortfall to settle their committed PMRR by approving PCSO Board Resolution No. 0127 (May 2018) which is a soft-payment scheme for STL sales shortfall and termination of the concerned AACs agency contract by default of payment,” Balutan revealed.

As per PCSO Board Resolution No. 0173 Series 2018, the new Presumptive Monthly Retail Receipts (STL PMRR) of the STL-AAC is “30 percent of Voting Populations x P4.50 per day x 30 days”.

The PCSO Charter, or RA 1169, particularly on revenue allocation, provides that the revenue of the PCSO shall be allocated to 55 percent for prize fund (payment of prizes), 30 percent for charity fund (various charity programs and service) and 15 percent as operating fund (maintenance and operating expenses).

“Thirty percent of PCSO revenues automatically goes to the Charity Fund, which pays for the free hospitalization and medicines of indigent patients and other medical services such as chemo and dialysis treatments, among others,” Balutan said.

Balutan, however, is appealing to the Congress to review the laws governing PCSO specially on mandatory contributions.

“Mandatory contributions are really ‘eating up funds’ for medical service, instead of being used for charity, PCSO funds are being used for sports, education and crop insurance, among many others,” Balutan added.

Unless these laws are repealed, Balutan admitted that the agency cannot stop these mandatory contributions. Even new agencies being established by the government are seeking fund support from PCSO.

“Wala tayong magawa kasi batas yan. Nakikita nilang pagkukunan lagi ng pondo ang PCSO at PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) kaya nagkakaganyan ang ating charity fund at prize fund distribution,” Balutan revealed.

Charity fund is only 30 percent of Net Sales of PCSO. Out of 30 percent, only 14.150 percent goes to “charity” fund; while 1 percent goes to the shares of city/municipality, 0.75 percent to congressional district, 1 percent to provincial government, 0.2 percent to the National Bureau of Investigation, 2.3 percent to the Philippine National Police, 0.7 percent to the National Headquarters, 1.6 percent to Police Regional Office, 10 percent for Documentary Stamp Tax.