Cordillera anti-gambling task force formed, 3 nabbed; PNP officers involved in jueteng investigated

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet– Cordillera police director Chief Supt. Benjamin B. Magalong has created a special task force to stop illegal gambling in the region and probe alleged complicity of police officers who have reportedly acted as “protectors” of jueteng “lords” in exchange for grease money worth millions of pesos.

Magalong’s directive said the Regional Anti-illegal Gambling Special Operations Task Force will oversee, direct and supervise anti-illegal gambling operations regionwide.

A report from the regional police headquarters at Camp Dangwa here said despite several directives to intensify the campaign and eradicate all forms of illegal gambling, regional police still received numerous complaints from the citizenry regarding unabated existence of illegal gambling particularly jueteng.

“Our campaign to address illegal gambling falls short of the public expectation,” the report said. “The public has persistently denounced the continued and unhampered operations of illegal gambling and the alleged lackadaisical attitude of the Philippine National Police to stop this illegal activity.”

The report added: “Reports that some police personnel are involved in this illegal activity as protectors aggravate the situation and affects the whole PNP organization when reports like this are taken in sweeping generality. Hence, a more aggressive and sincere campaign to eradicate all forms of illegal gambling region wide is extremely necessary and therefore, a need to further intensify and sustain this campaign.”

The RAIG-SOTF is headed by the deputy regional police director for operations, Senior Supt. Soriano while Senior Supt. Joseph Adnol, chief of regional police investigation detection management division is assistant task force commander.

Task force members include Supt. George D. Daskeo, officer in charge of regional operations and plans division as secretariat while Supt. Anselmo E. Andayan, chief of regional police legal office and Senior Supt. Virgilio M. Laya, chief of regional police community relations division whose office will serve as spokesperson of the task force.

The RAIG-SOTF will conduct operations against all forms of illegal gambling specifically jueteng anywhere in the region in conformity with Presidential Decree 1602 as amended by Republic Act 9287 increasing penalties for illegal numbers g.

The scope of the RAIG-SOTF encompasses supervision over provincial and city anti-illegal gambling special operation task group and will investigate/validate information on alleged involvement of PNP personnel in illegal gambling activities.

Regional director for operations Senior Supt. Soriano as task force commander will personally supervise implementation of this project regarding the operational and administrative activities at regional, provincial, city and municipal levels.

Following creation of RAIG-SOTF three suspects were arrested while in the act of collecting bets on Nov. 11 by, joint operatives of La Trinidad town and Benguet provincial police.

Nabbed were John BalistoWaywaya and Zenaida C. Antonio.

The suspects were reportedly arrested at Junction, Tomay, La Trinidad and at the Alumpit Compound, Km 6, Poblacion, in the capital town.

The suspects were brought to La Trinidad police station while a case for violation of RA 9287 was being readied for filing at the Benguet Provincial Prosecutors Office agasint them.

The following day, Mankayan town police in Benguet also arrested Ben P. Gawed, 39, of Barangay Cabiten at Barangay Guinaoang.

Gawed was nabbed while collecting jueteng bets. Confiscated from his possession were P250 and jueteng paraphernalia.

To date illegal jueteng operations were still being conducted by “lords” of the illegal numbers game not only in the Cordillera but other parts of northern and Central Luzon at press time, according to informants.

Identified areas where juetengwere prevalent in the Cordillera included Baguio, and the provinces of Abra and Kalinga and Benguet. Towns in Benguet where jueteng was prevalent were La Trinidad, Itogon. Tuba, Tublay, Mankayan and Buguias.

In Baguio, jueteng draws have reportedly increased from three to four draws daily with bets being taken from nearby Benguet towns like Itogon and Tuba.

In Mankayan and Buguias, jueteng had reportedly been unhampered despite reports about the illegal numbers game in the two mining and vegetable towns respectively.-- AD