MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the closure of all gaming schemes operated, licensed, and franchised by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) due to “massive corruption.”
The order covers such games as lotto, Small Town Lottery (STL), Peryahan ng Bayan and others.
Duterte’s order sent chills to the country’s millions of senior citizens, many of whom play BINGO games regularly as part of their amusement and their loneliness therapy.
BINGO games in malls and other public venues are supervised and managed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), not by PCSO. Nevertheless, senior citizens are afraid Duterte will ban BINGO games next.
So on Sunday, senior citizens will hold a nationwide One Million March for BINGO to urge the President to leave their BINGO games alone.
No comment so far from Malacañng.