Cited Laws
Accordingly, the Memoranda should not be sustained. III As for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Section 26 of Republic Act No. 6847 provides that it is to allocate "30% representing the charity fund of the proceeds of six (6) sweepstakes or lottery draws per annum " to the Philippine Sports Commission. Petitioner asserts that respondent Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office failed to remit the amounts as provided in the law except in the years 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2015, where the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office remitted amounts to the Philippine Sports Commission in the form of "donation." 90 Respondent Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, in its defense, asserts that Section 26 of Republic Act No. 6847 pertains to earnings from its sweepstakes and does not cover lotto games. It states that due to the declining sales of the regular sweepstakes, they took it upon themselves to enter into agreements with the Philippine Sports Commission to remit various amounts in favor of the latter, claiming that this is a show of steadfast compliance on their part. 91 Respondent Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office makes much of the joint meeting in the House of Representatives on House Bill No. 4284 which is the precursor of Republic Act. No. 6857. 92 It claims that its lottery draws cannot have been contemplated in Section 26 since they were not yet in existence when the law was enacted. This argument does not hold water. The express terms of the statute must be construed to be applicable to circumstances that come into existence even after the passage of the law. 93 This is in line with the general rule that statutes operate prospectively, unless the contrary is manifested. 94 In addition, it is an established rule that when the law does not distinguish, the courts should not distinguish. Ubi lex non distinguit, nec nos distinguere debumus. 95 This entails that a general phrase, in this case "sweepstakes or lottery draws," should not be reduced into its parts, with one part distinguished from the other, to remove its application from the law. 96 In the same vein, when the law does not indicate any exceptions, neither should this Court. 97 The deliberations in the House will not suffice to supply a difference in terms that were not distinguished in the law. Verily, the attempt of respondent Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to exclude its lotto draws from the term "lottery" and, thus, from the operation of Section 26 finds no support. The term "lottery" in this jurisprudence is defined as extending to "all schemes for the distribution of prizes by chance, such as policy playing, gift exhibitions, prize, concerts, raffles at fairs, and various forms of gambling." 98 Moreover, lottery is said to have three essential elements, namely, consideration, prize, and chance. 99 In this case, it cannot be denied that the lotto draws conducted by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office falls within the definition of "lottery," in that the p