Police uncover illegal gambling operation in Cotabato City
Cotabato City, Philippines—The authorities on Tuesday claimed they stumbled on a much larger “Last Two” illegal gambling operation following Monday’s raid on an alleged betting den maintained by a suspected gambling lord here.
“Last Two” is based on the last two digits of multiple daily lottery draws conducted by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). In most areas, bettors can place bets consisting of two-digit combinations three times daily.
Aside from “Last Two,” gambling operators also make money from running their own “Three Digit” games based on the the PCSO’s Swertres.
Cotabato City Mayor Japal Guiani Jr., who joined the police raiding team, said they found material evidence during the raid on a building on Sinsuat Avenue that was owned by the family of Edwin Cang.
Guiani police arrested nobody but seized balance sheets, bet collection lists and a document that looked like a payroll during the raid.
The payroll, he said, showed how extensive Cang’s operations were and it listed some police officers in various areas as recipients of protection money.
He said the documents showed that Cang’s operation covered northern, western and central Mindanao areas.
“Because of the clandestine operation of gambling operators, the government is losing several millions of pesos in revenues that should have gone to the PCSO,” Guiani said.
Senior Supt. Roberto Badian, Cotabato City police director, said Cang was previously arrested on suspicion of being a gambling operator but he always managed to escape prosecution.
“Earlier gambling-related cases filed in court had been dismissed for lack of witnesses and material proof,” he said.
But Badian said this time, the police could already build an “air-tight case” against the suspected gambling lord.
He said the police have also started investigating the police officers, including some in the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, whose names were on the payroll sheet.
“We will probe the veracity of their involvement and charge those with prima facie case,” Badian said.
