23 fall in crackdown on ‘jueteng’ in Pangasinan

By Freddie G. Lazaro

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union -- Police operatives arrested 23 people allegedly involved in “jueteng” as they launched a crackdown on the illegal numbers game in Pangasinan, the Police Regional Office 1 director reported yesterday.

Senior Supt. Moro Virgilio M. Lazo, Officer-in-Charge of the PRO1), said the 23 were rounded up in simultaneous entrapments in the town of Umingan.

Lazo identified the suspects and the areas of coverage in Umingan as Basilla Domingo, Jose Tabada, Mateo Barientos, Marcelo Vidal, Eduardo Cortez in Poblacion West; Arcenio Galelta and Amado Castillo in Nancalabasaan; Edgardo Prepose, Corzillo Siblang and Rorego Santaroza in Cuardanetaan;

Rodrigo Ramos and Nicole Abad in Luna Este; Rolando Pascua, Renato Operana,  and Fredo Organo in Maseil-seil; Lucena Tolentino and Elsa Bedro in Poblacio East; and Juana Tamayo and Cristy Bello in Villa Bantug.

He added that three of the suspects – Aljade Ramos, Mark James Ramos and Nestor Gonzales – are residents of Rosario, Batangas, while Alay Austria is from Paniqui, Tarlac.

Lazo said the suspects were collared last Monday in an entrapment conducted after receiving intelligence report about the operation of illegal number games in Umingan.

He said that suspects were caught in the house of Basilla Domingo, 85, while they are remitting and consolidating bets.

The raiding team seized cash amounting to P8,322 in various denominations, papelitos, and other jueteng paraphernalia.