Closure of 2,000 Lotto outlets questioned in House hearing

Lawmakers from the House of Representatives on Tuesday questioned the closure of 2,000 Lotto outlets across the country without notifying agents, Unang Balita reported on Wednesday.

A lotto agent who testified during a hearing said they suspect that the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) is favoring e-lotto.

The PCSO initially said the outlets were closed for failing to reach the sales target. But it was later on revealed during the hearing that there was no sales target for agents. 

"Hindi underperformance kasi unilaterally nag-decide na tanggalin ang 2,000 agents dahil nag-decide sila unilaterally na i-reduce ang capacity basically from 8,500 to 6,500," said Marikina Representative Stella Quimbo.

"Kasi maliwanag na wala namang target," she also said.

(It's not about underperformance because unilaterally they decided to remove 2,000 agents after they reduced the capacity from 8,500 to 6,500. It's clear that there were no targets.)

The PCSO then said the closure was in connection with a shift to a new system. 

"The reason why 2,000 agents were terminated was because of the implementation of the Philippine lottery system," said Atty. Kat Contacto of the PCSO.

The PCSO also denied it is favoring e-lotto.

It also said it will study the possible purchase of additional terminals for its new system. —KBK, GMA Integrated News