Justice secretary questions validity of court’s TRO vs crackdown on jai-alai bet stations

MANILA, Philippines – The Pasay City court’s order to temporarily stop the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to shut down off-fronton jai alai betting centers should not hinder the government’s crackdown on such establishments, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said on Tuesday.

According to De Lima, the DOJ and the DILG will file their joint opposition on Wednesday through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) questioning the legality of the 72-hour temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Pasay court based on a petition filed by one Ferdinand Ojerio.

Ojerio identified himself as the owner of the Green Lotus Amusement Center, the operator of an off-fronton betting station in Pasay.

“I should venture to say now that in spite of this 72-hour TRO… I don’t (think it will) affect the ongoing operations since the Court of Appeals had issued an order,” De Lima said in a news briefing.

The justice secretary was referring to the appellate court’s June 23 resolution, which directed two Aparri judges and jai alai operator Meridien Vista Gaming Corp. to momentarily stop within a 60-day period the jai alai games being played inside the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA).

The appellate court’s order was prompted by the petition filed by GAB on June 1 seeking to overturn the Aparri judges’ decision, which had blocked the implementation of the state-gaming agency’s March 3 cease and desist order against Meridien.

“Wherefore… (Meridien) and all entities operating jai-alai betting stations under authority from (Meridien) are hereby ordered to cease and desist from operating their establishments as such until further orders from this board,” the GAB order said.

De Lima also surmised that Ojerio was just a “dummy” of Meridien, which was reportedly owned by Charlie “Atong” Ang, a former gambling buddy and adviser of ex-President Joseph Estrada.

“Since there is the TRO from the Court of Appeals, the cease and desist order of GAB is there. It’s binding,” she argued.

She said she expected Meridien and “similar outfits” to take her and Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo to court as part of what she described as “harassment cases.”

“We expect that this is just the beginning. There would be more cases to be filed against us,” De Lima said.

De Lima said clamping down on jai alai betting joints would be easier if local government units revoked the business permits they had issued to off-fronton operators as contained in the DOJ-DILG directive.

The justice secretary said she would leave it up to Robredo to check on the compliance of the provincial, city and municipal governments to the joint memorandum.

Meanwhile, De Lima criticized Raul Banderas, Meridien spokesperson, for insinuating that her order to close down off-fronton betting stations and arrest bet collectors outside the Cagayan free port has been timed for the launch of Loterya ng Bayan, a new game of chance to replace the Small Town Lottery.

In an e-mailed statement, Banderas said the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office “may be viewing jai alai as a threat to Loterya ng Bayan, exerting all means to clamp down on a legitimate operation, instead of stamping out… jueteng.”

He claimed that unscrupulous individuals benefitting from the illegal numbers racket “jueteng,” including some public officials, could be behind a smear campaign against Meridien.

Banderas also questioned De Lima’s supposed silence on the reported continued operations jueteng syndicates.

But De Lima said the DOJ-led legal study on jai alai operations was prompted by Robredo’s request who, she said, had been receiving complaints from policemen sued by Meridien for raiding off-fronton betting centers.

“Jueteng does not require any clarificatory or implementing guidelines… because it’s very clear that it is illegal and prohibited under the Revised Penal Code,” De Lima said, adding:

“On the other hand, jai alai is under a color or semblance of authority because of that franchise of Meridien.” She stressed, however, that the law deemed operating off-fronton betting stations illegal.

She said it was necessary to issue “expressed guidelines to guide, educate and inform both the public and law enforcers” on the issue of jai alai.

De Lima added that there had been verified reports that jai alai operations were being used as “front of jueteng in some areas.”

Banderas assailed the allegations directed at Meredien, describing them as “malicious at best and sinister at worst.”

He also lamented supposed attempts to picture the gaming firm as being involved in an illegal activity by tagging Ang as its owner.

“(Meridien) is under constant attack despite its efforts to operate within the bounds of law,” he said in an emailed statement.

“Meridien is not violating any law or committing any illegal acts as government officials… are declaring. In fact, we are victim of trial by publicity and continuing harassment,” Banderas added.

Contrary to news reports, Banderas said Ang did not have “share or any stake” in Meridien and that Estrada’s former gambling adviser was just hired as a consultant being “an expert technical consultant on the game.”

He said when Ang’s work as a consultant “ended with the start of the operations of (Meridien), Ang’s relationship” with the gaming firm “likewise ended and was downgraded into a consultant on call.”

“Attempts to paint (Meridien) as Ang and Ang as (Meridien) are malicious, especially since news reports paint Ang as a criminal figure, therefore anything associated with Ang is criminal as well,” Banderas said.

He also maintained that what the appellate court restrained in its June 23 order only involved issues about GAB’s regulatory power over jai alai.

“The case revolving around GAB’s attempts to exercise regulatory powers over (Meridien) is one of a simple regulatory issue and is not an order to shut down jai-alai or (Meridien) operations,” he argued.