“Urdujas” endorse Loterya Ng Bayan
FOUR of Pangasinan’s women representatives in Congress have endorsed the operations of the Loterya ng Bayan (LNB), which will be launched soon in lieu of the Small Town Lottery (STL).
Margarita Juico, chairperson of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), which handles the STL, said she has already held several discussions with the four congresswomen at the residence of 4th District Rep. Gina de Venecia who is leading the group.
Aside from De Venecia, the other three are Reps. Kimi Cojuangco (5th District), Marlyn Primicias-Agabas (6thDistrict), and Rachel Arenas (3rd District). The four call their group the “Urdujas of Pangasinan”.
In a joint statement, the Urdujas said they “prefer the government- approved Loterya ng Bayan to curb the illegal numbers game or jueteng only because it is legitimate and will directly benefit the government and the people.”
However, they denied earlier reports that they plan to set up a company and hire professional managers to run the LNB.
They said in the statement that they have “no intention of banding themselves in a ‘corporation’ in its support”.
The statement also clarified that “They never have and will never involve themselves in these numbers games because as legislators their task is to uphold the highest principles of their mandate as lawmakers that shape the moral framework of Philippine society.”
Juico, speaking at a forum in Manila, said the “Urdujas” have admitted that the illegal numbers game jueteng is prevalent in Pangasinan and they believe this can be addressed by introducing LNB where the local government units can earn revenues as well.
Juico said Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas was present in one of her meetings with the congresswomen.
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