By Charissa Luci-Atienza The Lower Chamber was urged to look into the P10-billion worth of failed remittances to the government from the Small Town Lottery (STL) and discrepancies in other games operated by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). (EPA / MANILA BULLETIN) Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. sought a congressional probe after the Commission on Audit (COA) reported that the government suffered a loss amounting to P10 billion due to the failure of the PCSO to collect remittances from the STL operators. "COA observed that the sales collections report by 71 AACs (Authorized Agent Corporations) for calendar year 2017 were lower than their corresponding Presumptive Monthly Retail Receipts (PMRR) by P10.012 billion, " he said in filing House Resolution 2016. As of December 2017, PCSO has a total of 84 operators termed as Authorized Agent Corporations (AACs), he noted. Villafuerte expressed serious concern that the shortfall in the PMRR "is a direct violation of Section 18(e) of the STL implementing rules and regulations (IRR)." The STL IRR states that "Remit to PCSO the total sales collection less Agency Commission from the Prize Fund and Sales Supervisors/Representatives shares from the Operating Fund, every Tuesday of the following week (Weekly Remittance). In no case shall the total monthly sales collection be lower than the approved PMRR in the area." Villafuerte, vice chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, noted that Section 27 of the STL IRR states the PCSO Board has the sole authority to suspend or cancel the AACs for their violation of any provisions of the IRR. "No sanctions are being imposed by the PCSO Board on the said 71 AACs despite their repeated violations, incurring shortfalls for several months," he said. "The government continues to suffer from the losses incurred by tolerating the AACs' continuous failure to remit in accordance with their PMRR, " Villafuerte said. He also noted that COA observed that the Keno operations for 2016 to 2017 incurred deficits amounting to P4.2383 billion due to pay-outs exceeding the allocated amount of prizes. During the budget deliberations on August 1, the PCSO officials were grilled over the COA report disclosing that the PCSO incurred P4.283 billion deficit in its prize fund from 2006 to 2017 because of the online Keno gaming operations. Villafuerte, along with Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrellita Suansing, said the PCSO should have stopped the online Keno gaming operations following the incurred government loss.