By Marvin Sy
The Philippine Star
The Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III is pushing for another Senate probe on jueteng, specifically on the reported protection money being received by officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from operators of the illegal numbers game.
In a statement, Pimentel said the revelations made during last Friday’s hearing by the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, revision of codes and laws chaired by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago about the proliferation of jueteng operations – including reports coming from Camp Crame – merit a deeper look.
“The charges and counter-charges raised in media by personalities said to belong to the police certainly merit a full-blown investigation, if one considers the fair assumption that jueteng operators cannot continue with their illicit activities without powerful backers,” said Pimentel, who chairs the Senate committee on games and amusement.
Pimentel cited reports that at least two PNP generals have been tagged as jueteng protectors based on e-mails sent to the media.
During the Senate hearing on Friday to “evaluate” resigned interior and local government undersecretary Rico Puno, retired Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz revealed that jueteng continues to thrive in the country.
Cruz said the administration lacks the political will to stop the illegal numbers game, which has long been a source of corruption for government officials and the police.
He said the state-run small town lottery (STL) has not affected jueteng operations and has, in fact, been used as a front by operators of the illegal numbers game.
Pimentel said his committee may invite the PNP officials linked to jueteng so they can issue statements on record and under oath.
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“Jueteng, for example, targets the poor, especially those in the countryside. Bets placed in jueteng by members of families who live hand-to-mouth existences are money best used to buy food and other necessities. So, jueteng is really a pernicious problem which we must solve,” Pimentel said.
PNP chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome said during last Friday’s hearing that he would disclose the identities of his officers linked to jueteng in an executive session.
In a text message to The STAR yesterday, Bartolome promised to cooperate in any investigation into jueteng. “We are open to any probe. We will cooperate with the good senator,” he said.
“I advocate the no-take policy and I am firm in my instructions to my officers not to be part of any payola,” Bartolome said.
Reports said several senior police officials were on the take from jueteng operators, particularly in Northern and Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog and the Bicol region.
To escape arrest, jueteng employees pass themselves off as bet collectors of the government-sanctioned STL when making their rounds to collect jueteng bets.
Zero tolerance
At Malacañang, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Aquino administration does not tolerate jueteng operations and that it is committed to stamping out the illegal numbers game.
Valte said President Aquino is primarily responsible for the execution of the country’s laws and there is no need for him to again declare publicly his policy against jueteng.
At the same time, Valte said the President wants a comprehensive plan to address jueteng, since an isolated approach to address the issue would be futile.
“You have to provide for the transition. (There) has to be a holistic approach to it,” Valte said.
On Friday, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the government remained focused on battling jueteng through an integrated approach designed to address not only corruption but also the need to provide alternative livelihood to people dependent on jueteng operations.
The government’s plan is to introduce a formal numbers game that will provide employment to people and additional source of funds for social development projects.
The plan of the government, which was supposed to be implemented by the late Secretary Jesse Robredo, was to replace STL, which was deemed ineffective in stopping jueteng.
“We want to formalize everything. We want to make sure that we provide gainful employment. We want to make sure as well that the benefits will redound to the public good,” Lacierda said in a press conference on Friday.
“For instance, we can use its resources, its income for our government programs. Again, this is all integrated and ensuring also that we root out corruption in those levels,” he added.
The STL, put up by the government to fight jueteng, has apparently failed to eradicate the illegal numbers game, Lacierda admitted, prompting the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to seek a more effective alternative.
“In certain areas, jueteng has been expunged. I don’t know specific areas but we were informed that there were certain areas where jueteng has already been expunged. But because these are investigations that were handled by Jesse, I was not privy to those. But certainly, there is integrated campaign against jueteng,” Lacierda said. – With Aurea Calica, Jaime Laude
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