Police’s campaign against illegal gambling doubted: Jueteng thriving in NL despite P-Noy’s order

Illegal gambling operations particularly jueteng are still thriving in northern Luzon despite a directive of President Aquino to stop these.

In the Cordillera, jueteng is still on particularly in Baguio City, Benguet and other provinces with nary an arrest of a bet collector or an operator while police authorities, elective and executive officials are silent on the matter, sources said.

It is the same in the Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon, Northern Philippine Times sources said.

In Region 1, despite the Ilocos regional police’s purported intensified campaign against illegal gambling that resulted to alleged successful operations and raids, jueteng remains untouched and raking in money.

This was the observation of newsmen after Chief Supt. Orlando Mabutas, took over as regional police director last month.

Newsmen urged Mabutas to make true his press statements that they are launching a true campaign against illegal gambling in the region.

“Our operatives down to the lowest unit executed such campaign in accordance to directives of President Benigno Aquino to get rid of the long time social problems on illegal gambling,” said Mabutas in a press release which media practitioners doubted.

Mabutas, who is about to retire from the service, reported through his Information officer Supt. Raul Romero, they arrested 79 persons from July 1 to August 11 who were involved in illegal gambling out of 31 raids conducted in the region.

But newsmen said this was the first time they and the public heard such unbelievable news item.

Mabutas claimed that in Pangasinan 27 raids were implemented that resulted to the arrest of 73 illegal gambling suspects, confiscation of P40,317.00 collection bets and seizure of four video karera Machines.

In La Union, Mabutas said “our operatives arrested two suspects and confiscated P466.00 collection bets, while our policemen in Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte neutralized two suspects and confiscated two VKMs.”

The police press statement said operations resulted to the filing of t 25 criminal charges; 23 in Pangasinan and two in La Union now pending and being tried in various courts in the said provinces against persons involved including their financiers, a statement doubted by newsmen.

Among those considered gambling offenses defined and penalized under Republic Act 9287 are card games, pula puti, cara y cruz, fruit game machine, sakla, illegal cockfighting, lotteng and jueteng.- With a report from Mar T. Supnad