BACOLOD City – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed separate charges against 20 individuals allegedly involved in the illegal operation of Peryahan ng Bayan draw courts in Bacolod and Escalante cities in Negros Occidental.
The NBI filed the charges yesterday before the cities’ respective Prosecutor’s Offices.
The filing of charges came after the arrests of the lottery draw courts personnel.
Among those arrested were Escalante Peryahan center workers Mary May Britan, Elena Jose, Emalyn Guardania, Sheila Mae Castilla, Joerevin Villarante, Carlos Dela Cruz, Chingrig Padatogdog, Edmund Bosico, Roy Agabon, Juvy Bonda, and Vicente Gomez.
In Bacolod, Peryahan provincial manager Lito Estember and workers Gezelle Tanique, Donna Mellama, Rodelyn Mellama, Joffrey Mellama Jr., Arjoeron Elisan, Mark John Camarines, John Ray Suede, and Ofelenio Tomaquin were apprehended.
According to the NBI, the draw court violated Republic Act 9287, or an act that amended Presidential Decree 1602 by increasing the penalties for the illegal numbers games.
NBI-Bacolod chief Renoir Baldovino said they went to the Peryahan centers on May 3 after receiving a search warrant issued by Executive Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert of the Regional Trial Court in Quezon City.
The Peryahan workers were currently under the custody of the NBI, according to Baldovino. They will be released if they post bail, which has a minimum of P20,000 each.
Baldovino said they filed the charges to determine if the personnel were also liable since the draw courts are run by a company – the Global Tech Mobile Online Corp.
The draw courts can no longer operate since the NBI confiscated their draw machines and other equipment listed in the search warrant.
The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) terminated Global Tech’s deed of authority to operate, making the Peryahan operations “unauthorized and illegal,” Baldovino stressed.
“The Pasay City Court denied the petition for preliminary injunction of Global Tech. So they have no authority to operate after the PCSO terminated their deed of authority to operate,” he added.
On April 16, PCSO executive assistant IV Manuel Fraginal Sr. ordered to shut down the Peryahan center in Bacolod, citing a PCSO certification declaring all Peryahan operations in the country “unauthorized and illegal.”
But Estember insisted that their operation was legal, defying the PCSO order./PN
