PNP chief revives 1-strike policy on ‘jueteng’

Philippine National Police chief Deputy Director General Nicanor Bartolome.

Director General Nicanor A. Bartolome of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday announced he was reinstating the “one-strike policy” on police chiefs found to be remiss in their duty to curb illegal gambling.

Under that policy, the chief of police in a city or town shall be summarily relieved when an illegal gambling operation is discovered in their area, he said.

Bartolome also activated the PNP Anti-Illegal Gambling-Special Operations Task Forces (AIG-SOTF) at the national, regional and provincial levels to enforce laws against operators of the “jueteng” illegal numbers game and other outlawed forms of gambling.

“The AIG-SOTF shall also be responsible for the production and analysis of intelligence and information regarding illegal gambling activities, including active counter-intelligence and investigation to identify PNP personnel and other government officials and employees involved in illegal gambling activities,” he said.

Bartolome named Deputy Director General Emil Sarmiento, the PNP deputy chief for operations, as commander of the national AIG-SOTF, with Director Samuel Diciano of the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management as his deputy.

Tasked to “provide the muscle” of the AIG-SOTF are designated teams from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, the Intelligence Group, and the Special Action Force.