Jueteng all but gone?

BEHIND THE SCENES
Alfred P. Dizon

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo may have been right when he announced Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon are almost free of the illegal numbers game of jueteng.

Robredo said reports submitted by Philippine National Police chief Raul Bacalzo showed only five percent of the areas where jueteng exists have “guerilla-type” of operations.

“Halimbawa, kung sa 100 local government units na dating may jueteng, ngayon ay five percent na lang daw. But, generally Metro Manila out na, halos wala na pero may mga gerilya-type operations,” Robredo said.

But Robredo may not have been correctly appraised by police on extent of jueteng in some provinces like Benguet particularly in the towns of Buguias and Mankayan where the illegal numbers game is reportedly still up and about. Kubradors (bet collectors) reportedly go as far as Bauko, Mountain Province to gather the moolah.
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In Baguio and La Trinidad, Benguet, there is reportedly this character not known much in the jueteng world who is trying to inch his way among the powers-that-be to resume operations of the illegal numbers game in these areas.

In the Ilocos Region, all one has to do is go around and ask anybody where the kubradors are to place a bet. Even in Dagupan City, the home turf of anti-jueteng crusader retired bishop Emeritus Archbishop Oscar Cruz, the kubradors are now going about their merry ways. What happened to the “one-strike” policy of the Philippine National Police wherein police chiefs in areas where jueteng is found would be relieved from their positions?

Meanwhile, Robredo said the small town lottery (STL) of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office has always been mistaken as jueteng so they need to double check information that the illegal numbers game is still continuing.

“Ang problema diyan ay STL ba yan o jueteng? If there’s STL, very likely at this point in time, that is used as a legal cover for jueteng, di pa nabe-break yan, so, dapat talagang gawan ng paraan yan ng PCSO,” he added.
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Robredo said they will also validate claims of Archbishop Cruz that jueteng operations have sprung back after its operators laid low due to exposés and intensified police operations. It is a wonder why he doesn’t seem to know the real score. Maybe, he should ask Undersecretary Puno.

Robredo said illegal gambling operators in the Visayas and Mindanao regions have been continuing with “masiao” and “suertres.” Masiao is patterned after jueteng, while suertres uses results of the lotto as its winning combination. Again, where is the PNP’s “one strike” policy in this case?

Senators are expected to submit a key amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering Act to track down alleged ill-gotten wealth of suspected jueteng lords.

Basing from reports, there are a handful of this kind of lords in the Cordillera and Ilocos regions but there are more “protectors.” It would be interesting to know those listed in a “blue book” which a source said he would like to expose anytime from now.

From local to national level, it would be a revelation how many millions of pesos these characters have in the banks should the amendment be approved.
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Senators said the amendments would facilitate sharing of information among government regulators that would locate ill-gotten wealth of known gambling lords.

Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee who investigated the reported upsurge of jueteng operations in the Aquino administration, said they would submit for plenary approval a key amendment to the AMLA.

The amendment, he said, would effectively waive a Supreme Court ruling requiring official notification before anti-money laundering authorities could look into bank accounts of suspected jueteng lords.

Guingona said his panel would craft a separate legislation that would oblige all government agencies to share information with the Bureau of Internal Revenue in tracking other assets acquired in the course of conducting a lifestyle check on jueteng lords.
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In a hearing on jueteng, PCSO general manager Ferdinand Rojas said the agency is coming out soon with an alternative “three-numbers” game to replace jueteng in Luzon, as well as “masiao.” Rojas said under the new guidelines, they will improve game designs and will be “going cultural” in areas where STL is located.

He said STL operations will also have increased capital and will be operated in a city or town level, making each area “more competitive.” STL operations initially operate on the provincial level.

Also under the new guidelines, the list of STL “sales force” will also have to be submitted to the Department of Interior and Local Government, PNP and local government units.

But Guingona and Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., chair of the committee on local governments, told Rojas to postpone the implementation of the changes. “Obviously changes and some fine-tuning are still necessary,” Guingona said.

“You might be creating a monster with this new (STL) system. You must include in the employment system the jueteng bet collectors,” he added
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Marcos said there are still some questions that need to be clarified. “There are many quarters that still need to be consulted. The PCSO has yet to do that,” he said.

Guingona also cautioned that PCSO’s proposed solution to stamp out jueteng “might produce a monster.” Guingona recalled the admonition of Archbishop Cruz that when jueteng was suppressed in some parts of the country, illegal drugs went on the rise because the jueteng operators and their personnel merely “switched from one product to another.”

Former Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio testified that STL was used as a “cover” that enabled jueteng to flourish in his province. “STL is prone to corruption and smells of jueteng,” Panlilio said noting that it is also open to “tampering” as STL tickets do not have security markings.