STL was designed totally like jueteng. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) introduced it as part of the government’s anti-illegal gambling drive during the Aquino administration, but it failed to take off.

Hagedorn, appearing at yesterday’s Kapihan sa Sulo news forum in Quezon City, said the STL would serve as an alternative livelihood to those displaced by jueteng.

He has just concluded his work as President Arroyo’s anti-jueteng czar after submitting his recommendations on how to totally eradicate the numbers racket, one of which is through the revival of the short-lived STL.

He earlier reported that "organized jueteng operations" in Luzon were fully eradicated with the cooperation of local government leaders and the police. He, however, said that "guerrilla-type" operations continue but not as rampant as before.

Yesterday, Hagedorn said that despite the accomplishment of the anti-jueteng task force he headed, the government should still come up with long-term solutions to the problem of illegal gambling.

He said there must be a "transition period" where those displaced by jueteng could shift to legalized gambling such as STL, otherwise these people would keep on coming back to the illegal numbers game.

"Any change that will greatly affect the lives of our people should have a transition period. Jueteng cannot be eradicated in a snap," Hagedorn said.

If the STL system is instituted, Hagedorn said it would provide jobs to jueteng workers and give additional income for the cash-strapped government.

Hagedorn said the government stands to earn anywhere from R6 billion to R10 billion a year if the plan to institutionalize the STL pushes through, unlike in the R20-billion jueteng industry which benefit only the big-time gambling operators.