Tagbilaran City Hall personnel through the directive of Mayor John Geesnell Yap II shut down the operations of five “Peryahan ng Bayan” betting outlets in the city in a two-day operation starting Wednesday night.
Sammy Belderol, chief of the city’s Business Licensing and Permit Office (BLPO), said that the Globaltech Mobile Online Corp. which operates Peryahan ng Bayan committed violations including the operation of illegal numbers game based on the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Swertes.
A Deed of Authority (DOA) issued by the PCSO to Globaltech allows the firm to only operate Peryahan Hulog Holen, Peryahan Throw Coins, and Peryahan Gulong ng Swertes.
The conduct of games not stipulated in the DOA is deemed illegal, according to a Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) advisory issued last month.
“Wa ma apil ang swertes na national. Mao man ang ilang [Peryhan] gigamit kanang swertres national. Wa sila masud sa ilang permit na gihatag sa PCSO,” said Belderol.
The BLPO conducted the operation in coordination with the Tagbilaran City Police Station and barangay officials.
They shut down Peryahan ng Bayan stalls and seized their booths in the villages of Poblacion 2, Poblacion 3 and Poblacion 1.
According to Belderol, Peryhahan ng Bayan outlets in the city also operated without business permits while lot owners of their sites were not able to present lessor’s permits.
“Unang una wa pud silay permiso sa syudad sa Tagbilaran. Illegal g’yud. Way permit, way mga lessor’s permit ang mga tag-iyahan sa yuta nga ilang mga gipangturukan,” said Beldorol.
He noted that the Peryahan ng Bayan outlets were given ample time to comply with the requirements but did not take action.
According to Belderol, more Peryahan ng Bayan outlets which have sprouted in the city “like mushrooms” will be shut down in the following days.
He called on the operators to voluntarily close their stalls on their own. This would save time for the city personnel and allow the operators to keep their booths.
“Di man gud nato mahurot usang adlaw kay [kuwang] atong sakyanan ug manpower. Among gihanyo na mo abot sa management, aron magamit nila ng mga booth na gigama, sila nalay mo hipos,” he said.
For now, the booths have been placed under the city’s custody and kept at the City Hall compound near the City Engineering Office. (R. Tutas)