ONCE AGAIN, Small Town Lottery (STL) has become the latest “meat of the matter” in Bacolod City’s daily buzz.
City Councilor Dindo Ramos is making noise about STL—raising issues on permits, franchise, local revenues, and more. He even urged the city police to act against STL operations.
But Bacolod Police Director Colonel Joeresty Coronica refused to budge, insisting that STL operations in Bacolod are legal.
Still, Councilor Dindo plans to push through with public consultations to be handled by the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s powerful committees on Ways and Means, Laws and Ordinances, and Good Government. Well and good.
To me, what he is pursuing is a lost cause. Still, I stand to be corrected.
In Case of Conflict
STL is covered by the charter of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), Republic Act No. 1169, which was enacted in 1954. Its mandate: to generate funds for health programs, medical assistance, and charities. Being a special law, RA 1169 prevails over the Local Government Code of 1991 (RA 7160) in case of conflict.
When I was in law school a decade ago, we were taught that a special law always prevails over a general law. Surely, Councilor Dindo—an accountant-lawyer by profession—knows this principle.
Exempted
PCSO, being an agency and instrumentality of the State, is exempt from requiring business permits or licenses under its charter. This exemption also extends to its authorized agents, including STL operators. Simple enough to grasp.
In fact, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has already issued opinions making it clear: local government units (LGUs) cannot pass resolutions or ordinances that disallow or interfere with national government–sanctioned activities like STL.
National legislation, like the PCSO charter, together with established jurisprudence, overrides the “general welfare clause” of the Local Government Code. As the Supreme Court has ruled: an LGU cannot prohibit what the national legislature expressly allows.
The DOJ also issued Legal Opinion No. 74 in 1995 and No. 46 in 2010, both addressing attempts by LGUs to stop STL operations. Bottom line: no LGU or local official has the unilateral power to suspend these games in their jurisdiction unless ordered by the PCSO chairman.
‘Milking Cow’ Versus ‘Cash Cow’
Councilor Dindo, however, maintains a simple point: STL should share its revenues with Bacolod.
Why? Because, he argues, while STL is permitted in the province, it earns millions from Bacolod—more than half its monthly revenues—without giving anything back to the city.
“It is as if Bacolod is just a ‘milking cow’ for STL but, at the end of the day, benefits nothing from it,” the councilor lamented.
In essence, Bacolod has become a “milking cow” for what is already STL’s well-established “cash cow.”
Worth Fighting For
Let’s look at Councilor Dindo’s stance from a broader perspective. Perhaps he has an underrated point that needs a microscope to magnify. Or maybe he simply subscribes to the wisdom of British statesman Winston Churchill, who once said that lost causes are often worth fighting for.
So, better let Councilor Dindo raise his points about STL. Who knows? What seems like a lost cause today might become a cause worth gaining tomorrow.
Let’s wait for the next developments. Let’s see who else will join Councilor Dindo’s bandwagon in questioning STL operations and legality. We may yet be surprised by other voices rallying behind him, helping turn his “lost cause” into a cause worth pursuing.
So, standby!/PN
