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By Harley Palangchao, Correspondent
BAGUIO: By all indications, the planned test
runs of the controversial small-town lottery in Baguio will not push
through, as various sectors led by the various church congregations
strongly opposed the plan.
This, as church leaders, women’s groups,
youth leaders were one in informing city officials during a public
hearing on lottery that they will oppose any further plan to operate
the numbers game, which the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)
has proposed for this mountain resort.
“It hurts me,” were the words of
Bishop Carlito Cenzon when he spoke before the city council
committee led by councilor Richard Cariño tasked to hold a public
hearing to determine the pulse of the citizenry on lottery.
Cenzon said that providing employment to
hundreds of residents should not be a justifiable reason in
approving lottery to be operated in Baguio, saying that thousands of
families will soon be in peril once the legal numbers game would be
approved here.
Former government workers who once hold
critical positions were also in attendance and they were one in
saying that the people of Baguio have already spoken that they are
against lottery and other forms of legal and illegal numbers game.
Even noted Muslim imam, Bedejim Abdullah,
aired his strong opposition against lottery even as he described the
numbers game as an “evil” one.
Cariño told reporters after the public
hearing that the absence of a representative from the PCSO or
proponents of lottery would stop his committee from coming out with
their recommendation.
The committee recommendation will be
presented before the members of the city council in its regular
session for possible discussion before one city council decision is
made final.
The issue on lottery was again brought to
the fore after Green2 Corp., a firm based in Nueva Ecija, signified
its intention to test run the lottery in Baguio, which is one of the
identified pilot areas of the controversial numbers game with
approval from the national government.
Lottery was pilot tested in Laguna, Quezon
Province, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, Angeles City and Quezon City.
The former city council passed Ordinance
45 series of 1990 that amended Ordinance 2 in the same series, which
provides rules and regulations for the operation of lottery in
Baguio.
One of the reasons for the lottery
endorsement was in response to public criticisms that the former
city officials were not exercising political will to curb jueteng
operations.
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