By Paulo Loreto Lim

Following the back and forth on the policies surrounding small town lottery, the Bacolod City Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) approved a resolution, yesterday, requesting official guidelines from Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) chair Jose Jorge Corpus.
City Councilor Wilson Gamboa, Jr., a sponsor of the resolution, said he needs clarification on the operating regulations of small town lottery.
“How much is earned by the city government from the operation?” he asked. “It was reported that bets from Bacolod City are being deposited in some LGUs (local government units) or there are overlapping jurisdictions in their operation.”
The councilor has previously noted there can only be one small town lottery operator per LGU.
He also requested clarification on the requirement for small town lottery operators to acquire a Resolution of No Objection (RONO).
Last month, Gamboa pointed out, of the two local operators, Southern Shores Gaming Corporation and Super Lucky Beaglers, the former had a RONO but did not have a business permit nor franchise to operate in Bacolod City, while the latter had a franchise but neither a RONO nor permit.
However, City Councilor Caesar Distrito responded by saying there are no limits to the issuance of RONO and the SP can approve them as long as operators follow proper procedure./WDJ