Mayor orders Baguio bingo activities stopped

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio Domogan last week ordered city police director Supt. Rolando Miranda to stop bingo social operations being conducted at the former Rabbit sinkhole along Magsaysay Avenue and along Otek St. here in view of mounting complaints that these are becoming fronts of gambling activities.

“This is a follow-up of our previous directive, verbal as well as written for the stoppage of the operation all alleged bingo socials specifically at the said sites due to series of complaints and petitions to the effect that late at night they doing illegal gambling activities such as the drop balls,” the mayor noted in his memorandum to Miranda.

He furnished Miranda copies of the petitions and photographs of the illegal activities.

The mayor last year issued an order for the police to stop all illegal gambling activities in the city including those barangay-run bingo events noting that these have been used as cover for gambling operations.

This prompted the city council to approve Resolution No. 173 series of 2013 entitled “Requesting the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) to cause the stoppage of all gambling activities in all Bingo sa Barangay.

The body approved the resolution asking the city police “to immediately stop all kinds of illegal gambling activities in all parts of the city including those in the guise of fund-raising activities.”

Councilor Leandro Yangot Jr. who moved for the closure of all illegal gambling operations in the city said that many of these activities use the fund-raising ploy.