Baguio village heads put stop to ‘jueteng’ front

BAGUIO CITY—Village leaders in the city got their acts together and put a stop to a community bingo project that they said was being used to conceal illegal gambling operations.

Officials of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) here passed a resolution on Nov. 4 to end the “Bingo sa Barangay” program that started in 2008 as a fund-raising campaign by village chiefs for community projects.

Councilor Joel Alangsab, ABC head, said the resolution had divided ABC.

The Nov. 4 resolution nullifies a previous one issued on April 7 authorizing the bingo project.

ABC stopped the program in 2010 on instructions of Mayor Mauricio Domogan, who was implicated that year by a Catholic bishop as among government officials coddling illegal gambling operators. Domogan had denied the charge during a Senate hearing.

Last year, a village leader was sued for operating bingo in Malcolm Square in defiance of Domogan’s directive. A local court, however, dismissed the case, saying a 2006 court ruling had legitimized the game.

Alangsab said he was not part of the April 7 assembly that led to a resolution allowing bingo. He said members of the ABC board met previously to recall that resolution “but it was not put in writing.”

ABC leaders said the Nov. 4 resolution meant that the April 7 resolution allowing bingo “can no longer be used by any office, entity or individual to advance the Bingo sa Barangay activity.”

The government also recently ordered a crackdown on jai alai games and closed betting outlets nationwide. Police sources, however, said illegal jai alai operations continue. Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon