Pangasinan group backs DILG on ‘jueteng’ war

A partylist group based in Pangasinan expressed support for the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s renewed crackdown on “jueteng” (illegal numbers game) and other forms of illegal gambling, but said it should be carried out nationwide.

In a statement, the Abono partylist group said in Pangasinan, illegal gambling has taken the form of jai alai which operates betting stations in the province outside of its franchise area in Cagayan.

“We support Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas in his efforts to crack down on jueteng, but we also appeal to him to dismantle illegal jai-alai betting operations in the country,” said Rosendo So, head of Abono, in a statement.

“We also call on the Aquino administration, through the DILG and the Philippine National Police, to implement its antigambling campaign also in other areas where illegal numbers games are operating,” So said.

He said Bugallon Mayor Rodrigo Orduña should also help unmask the bigger jueteng lord that is behind illegal gambling not only in Pangasinan, but elsewhere.

In Pangasinan, So said employees of jai alai take bets in the barangay level, especially in some of the province’s remotest areas.