Quezon cops step up drive vs illegal gambling

Bettors wait for results of a Small Town Lottery draw in Lucena City. —DELFIN T. MALLARI JR.

LUCENA CITY—The top police official in Quezon has set his eyes on eliminating illegal gambling, warning policemen to stop protecting gambling lords who have been competing with government-sanctioned games in the province.

“Don’t destroy your career to the lures of easy money. Respect and protect the [Philippine National Police] as a noble institution,” Senior Supt. Rhoderick Armamento, Quezon police director, warned policemen who are protecting illegal gambling.

A government source, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, said a list showed at least six police officers were protecting “bookies” or illegal operations of the government-run Small Town Lottery (STL) in the province.

The source said close relatives of local government and barangay officials and in some cases, the officials themselves, operate illegal gambling.

Armamento ordered all chiefs of police in the province’s 39 towns and two cities to put a stop to “bookies” and continue the war against criminality, particularly illegal drugs.

The Inquirer source said bookies operate in the central part of the province, particularly in the capital Lucena City, Tayabas City and the towns of Sariaya, Candelaria, Tiaong, Mauban and Pagbilao to as far as Calauag and Tagkawayan towns near the province’s boundary with the Bicol

region.

Pirouette Corp., the STL operator in Quezon, has long been complaining of losing money to underground operators.

“Unhampered operations of bookies are sabotaging the STL bet collections. And yet, we’re the one paying taxes to the government,” Jose Gonzales, Pirouette operations manager, said in a telephone interview last week.

Bookies maintain unauthorized STL betting stations in remote areas to avoid authorities. Reports said illegal lottery operators employ legitimate STL bet collectors, who use STL lottery materials for their underground operations.

“The unscrupulous bet collectors submit at least half of the collected bets to the bookies, who offer a higher commission compared to STL,” a bet collector told the Inquirer.

Bookies no longer conduct draws but take the winning number combinations of STL to determine winners in their operations, the source said.

STL draws are held thrice daily in Pirouette’s office in downtown Lucena City. The draw is open to the public.

The winning combination is adopted in all betting stations in the province.

Police said 293 suspected bookies collectors and employees were arrested in recent operations in the province. Most of those arrested turned out to be registered bet collectors of Pirouette. —DELFIN T. MALLARI JR.