NBI busts ‘jueteng’ ring in N. Vizcaya; 43 held

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—The National Bureau of Investigation has arrested 43 people suspected of operating the illegal numbers game “jueteng” in separate raids in three towns, following a crackdown against illegal gambling activities that supposedly use a government-sanctioned gaming operation as cover.

Lawyer Virgilio Mendez, NBI director, on Thursday recommended the filing of charges against the suspects for collecting bets for jueteng, which allegedly uses the Bingo Milyonaryo game of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) as “front.”

On Wednesday, NBI agents arrested six table managers in a raid in Barangay (village) San Pedro in Bagabag town. They also arrested 26 “cobradores” (bet collectors), “cabos” (head agents), table managers and other employees in Barangay Don Mariano Perez here. Eleven others were arrested in Barangay Maddiangat in Quezon town on Tuesday.

“Bet collectors supposedly for the Bingo Milyonaryo game used paraphernalia and mechanics similar to jueteng but deviated from guidelines set by the PCSO,” said the NBI agents in their joint affidavit.

Instead of requiring players to put up their bets at designated Bingo Milyonaryo outlets, the allegedly illegal operations used cobradores and cabos to collect bets, which, the agents said, violated the PCSO guidelines.

“(The suspects) use strips of paper, commonly known as ‘papelitos’ in recording bets and bettors’ chances of winning are referred to through known jueteng combinations such as ‘casa,’ ‘saklit,’ ‘diretsa’ and ‘tumbok,’” the agents said.

No machine-generated PCSO tickets were also issued for each bet, the agents added.

The NBI crackdown came amid public displeasure over the Nueva Vizcaya police’s failure to stop gambling operations, which at one point were simultaneously operated in three varying schemes: Bingo Milyonaryo, jai-alai games of Meridien Vista Gaming Corp. and Bingo sa Barangay.

Governor Ruth Padilla said parents, religious leaders and other concerned sectors have complained about the proliferation of jueteng activities, with Bingo Milyonaryo as front.

In an earlier interview, Senior Superintendent Valfrie Tabian, Nueva Vizcaya police director, said they have been “continuously monitoring and validating” reports about the illegal activities involving Bingo Milyonaryo.

According to documents, the Bingo Milyonaryo game in the province was authorized by the PCSO through a license issued to ComNet Management Corp., a Makati City-based firm.

ComNet, in turn, entered into a dealership agreement” with Olongapo City-based Moon Valley Gaming and Amusement Corp. Melvin Gascon, Inquirer Northern Luzon