Lotto price hike to fund admin's 2010 campaign kitty? - prelate

The doubling of lotto ticket prices by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) may be meant to fund the political campaign of some administration candidates for 2010, a senior Catholic bishop said Friday. Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Oscar Cruz said it is hard to believe PCSO and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), both of which are under the Office of the President, are raising such money just for charity. Cruz heads the anti-gambling groups Kilusang Bayan Laban sa Jueteng (KBLJ) and Kilusang Bayan Laban sa Sugal (KBLS). "It is not hard to presume that both entities are spending that much money not really to help the media people, neither to promote the arts and culture nor to fund charitable projects respectively - but to feed their greed of certain characters in the ruling administration for more and more money for their own personal and/or partisan intentions," Cruz said in his web log. He also questioned the need for PCSO to raise ticket prices as it and Pagcor are top advertisers in "practically all media outlets, for so many times in a day." As for Pagcor, Cruz said it has been spreading its wings more and more not only to continue catering to gambling addicts but also to entice potential gamblers all over Asia. He said Pagcor even went as far as offering to bribe a local bishop in Central Luzon to agree to another gambling site it is planning there. "Lately, it is said that Nueva Ecija has become its target for another gambling site. The report says that the principal agent involved in this ominous project even callously claimed that he 'will take care of the Bishop.' In plain language, he plans to give a big 'donation' to the Churchman concerned which made this fume with anger and disgust," he said. - GMANews.TV