PRO-6 stands pat on claim that Peryahan in Panay is ‘illegal’

By Jennifer P. Rendon

The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) stood pat on its earlier pronouncement that the operation of Peryahan Games, formerly Peryahan ng Bayan (PnB), in Panay Island, is illegal.

Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong, PRO6 spokesperson, said that they would use as bases the certification and letter issued by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

“The PCSO has already declared that the operations of Peryahan Games are only done in 15 areas. None of them are in Panay Island,” she said.

Malong said police officers were ordered to arrest those who collect bets and other activities relative to Peryahan Games’ operations.

On Wednesday, Malong said police from the province and city of Iloilo reported that Peryahan Games’ offices in their areas have closed shop.

But Atty. Bernard Vitriolo, vice president for legal affairs of Globaltech Mobile Online Corp (GMOC), has claimed that they have legal basis in operating Peryahan Games in Iloilo.

Vitriolo cited the status quo ante order of the Court of Appeals dated Jan. 14, 2019 favoring their operation.

In fact, he added that the arbitrary tribunal will issue in the next few months a decision that would resolve the conflict relative to their operation.

He also said that they would sue those who have issued the order declaring their operation in Iloilo as illegal.

As to the legal questions, Malong said that it should be resolved between GMOC and PCSO.

On Tuesday, PRO-6 declared the operation of the Peryahan Games in Iloilo province and other areas in Panay Island as illegal.

In a July 5, 2021 letter to Brigadier General Rolando Miranda, Western Visayas police chief, the PCSO said that it has approved new Authorized Agent Corporations in Panay Island to operate the Small Town Lottery (STL).

Royina Garma, PCSO vice-chairperson and general manager, identified these new AACs as 7 Aces Games and Amusement Corp., which is operating in Iloilo province; Iloilo Small Town Lottery Gaming Corp. in Iloilo City; 888 Good Fortune Gaming Ventures Corp in Capiz and Antique provinces; and Great Lion Gaming Ventures Inc. in Aklan.

But along that declaration, Garma clarified that the “above mentioned areas are not included in the Status Quo Ante Order issued by the Regional Trial Court of Mandaluyong City to Peryahan ng Bayan.”

Further, “the Office of the President issued a Memorandum that the resumption of operation of Peryahan ng Bayan does not bear the approval of the President and therefore is still subject to the suspension order of PCSO games,” Garma noted.

A week before this, it was gathered that 7 Aces Games and Amusement Corp. asked for a certification from PCSO attesting that the agency granted them authority to operate the STL game in Iloilo province.

Garma issued the certification on June 29.

In the same letter, she also noted that “Iloilo province is not included in the fifteen areas of Peryahan Games covered by the Status Quo Ante Order issued by the Court.”

But a Court of Appeals (CA) ruling dated January 2019 allowed the Peryahan Ng Bayan (PNB) numbers game to proceed pending resolution of the legal dispute on its terminated contract with PCSO.

The CA upheld the status quo ante order issued by the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 161 in May 2016, which stopped the PCSO’s revocation of the deed of authority for PNB operations.

But on April 2019, PCSO also warned the public against participating in the operation of “Peryahan Games or Peryahan ng Bayan.”

In a notice release April 10, 2019, the PCSO said the Peryahan ng Bayan run by Globaltech Mobile Online Corporation is unauthorized and illegal.

Several legal proceedings and announcements involving PCSO and Peryahan operations have taken place since then.

Last year, the PCSO has announced that Peryahan Games has been suspended.

“This is to inform the public that effective February 6, 2020, the operation of Peryahan Games is suspended until further instruction from the Office of the President,” the advisory said.

But several cases against Peryahan operators and employees were dismissed because of the CA’s status quo ante order.