LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – The provincial board here expressed its willingness to allow the operations of the Small Town Lottery (STL) under the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) provided that the guidelines are clear.
 

Four provincial board members said that guidelines must be well defined first to prevent any glitches like what happened during the ‘Loterya ng Bayan’ and ‘Bingo 2 Ball’ during the administration of former President Corazaon Aquino and Joseph Estrada, respectively.
 

The four are Provincial Board Membes Amadeo Espino, Nestor Reyes, John Agerico Rosario and Robert Raymundo Estrella.
 

In a resolution they jointly filed with the provincial legislative body, the four expressed optimism that the introduction of the STL would discourage illegal gambling operators to revive their operations in Pangasinan.
 

The province remains jueteng free until now, ever since mid last year as a result of a series of investigation on the illegal numbers game spurred by the strong advocacy against jueteng by Archbishop Oscar Cruz of the Lingayen-Dagupan archdiocese.
 

The four board members took note that the PCSO recently began test-launching the STL in Pampanga, Laguna and several other selected areas in the country.
 

In their joint resolution, the four board members said although the operation of the STL is still on experimental basis, it is necessary to adopt and implement strict guidelines to safeguard public interest.
 

They also cited the need to observe transparency in the operation of the STL and the designation of credible and qualified managers or operators.
 

All of them view STL not only as a deterrent to jueteng but will also create jobs to hundreds of people deprived of their livelihood when the illegal  numbers game finally grounded to a halt. (PNA)