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NBI files raps vs. 3 brgy captains, says Villarosa illegal STL ‘financier’

Tangub Barangay Captain Noli Villarosa denies being an illegal STL financier.*

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed criminal charges against three barangay captains, including Noli Villarosa of Tangub, Bacolod City, who was tagged as a “financier” of illegal Small Town Lottery (STL) operations, before the Kabankalan City Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday, March 8.

Named in the complaint along with Villarosa were Kabankalan City barangay captains Franz Leonard Seguero and Joel Alibango and one alias Ma’am who has yet to be named, NBI Bacolod Chief Renoir Baldovino said.

NBI investigation showed that alias Ma’am is Villarosa’s illegal STL manager in Kabankalan City, and the two other barangay captains are “protectors” based on the testimonies of their bet collectors and barangay tanods, Baldovino said.

All four were charged for violation of Presidential Degree 1602 as amended by Republic Act 9287, which imposes penalties of 16 to 20 years imprisonment for illegal gambling activities, he said.

Baldovino said the NBI apprehended three illegal STL bet collectors and one bettor in an entrapment operation in Kabankalan City on February 17 and filed charges against them.

The NBI then uncovered that a meeting was conducted by Seguero and Alibango, and the manager of the illegal STL operations at the covered court of Barangay 6 in Kabankalan City, which is a government facility, on February 8.

They instructed the barangay tanods to invite bet collectors who were promised 15 percent of their bet collections, and PhilHealth and Social Security System cards, Baldovino said.

They were also told that the owner of the illegal STL operations is Villarosa, he added.

After the meeting alias Ma’am gave the illegal bet collectors P100 each and Seguero provided the snacks, Baldovino said.

There are other baragay captains willing to give statements to bolster the NBI criminal charge against Villarosa. The barangays captains said Villarosa held a meeting with them sometime in January to convince them to support STL operations in their areas, and they would be given a share of the earnings, Baldovino said.

Villarosa made them believe that it was okay for them to operate unauthorized STL in Kabankalan City, he said.

Baldovino reiterated that Super Lucky Beagler Inc. is the only firm authorized by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to operate STL in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.

The NBI believes that there are more barangay officials involved in the illegal STL operations, he said.

“Our investigation is continuing and in the coming days we may file more charges,” Baldovino said.

The NBI will provide the Department of the Interior and Local Government with a copy of the criminal charges filed against the three barangay captains for appropriate administrative charges, he added.

They are also monitoring other areas for illegal STL operations, Baldovino said.

Meanwhile, Villarosa denied involvement in illegal gambling operations and of being a “financier”.

He does not have the financial capacity to be a financier, Villarosa said.

How he could be accused of being financier of illegal STL operations when the barangay captains had not remitted any money to him, he added.

If he were involved in illegal gambling, he would resign, Villarosa said.

When asked if he met with the Kabankalan barangay captains, Villarosa said it was about politics and the possible setting up of a partylist group.

Villarosa, however, could not say yet what partylist group he plans to set up.*

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