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PAMPANGA Rep. Joseller “Yeng” Guiao yesterday filed a case with the Supreme Court to force the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office into remitting about P4 billion in withheld mandatory contributions to the Philippine Sports Commission.
Guiao, also the vice chair of the House Committee on Youth and Sports, said that Republic Act 6847, or the law that created the PSC, clearly mandates that Pagcor should automatically remit five percent of its gross annual income to the government sports agency.
Guiao said the gaming agency unilaterally reduced its annual contribution to a measly 2.13 percent starting in 1993, during the term of President Fidel V. Ramos.
“This is the law, so we’re expecting it to be followed to the letter,” said Guiao, who also coaches Rain or Shine in the PBA.
In the case of the PCSO, Guiao said the charity agency is supposed to remit 30 percent of the proceeds of six sweepstakes or lottery draws every year, something it hasn’t done since 2006.
“Whenever the PSC says that it’s not receiving this or that, everybody’s surprised,” said Guiao, who filed the petition for mandamus through legal counsel Avelino Guzman Jr. and his chief of staff Ramon Navarra Jr.
“But nobody is doing anything. Maybe, this is the right time to do something about it.”
He said that Pagcor apparently relied on a mere memorandum, issued by the Office of the President during the time of Ramos, in reducing its contributions to the country’s sports programs.
“If we are successful in recovering the share of the PSC from Pagcor and PCSO, we can build better facilities, provide better nutrition and training for our athletes,” said Guiao.