In The Know: Government’s anti-‘jueteng’ drive

Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

At least seven chiefs of police had been sacked in the past two months as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) carried out its policy against police officials who failed to curb “jueteng,” an illegal numbers racket, in their areas.

In March, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo ordered the relief of the chiefs of police of three towns in Camarines Sur. Sacked were Chief Inspector Benjamin Espana of Calabanga town, Chief Inspector Ely Compuesto Jr. of Pili and Senior Inspector Victor E. Azuela of Bato.

They were removed from their posts after members of the DILG’s Office of Internal Security launched simultaneous raids in the three towns on March 23 and arrested 51 people employed by Evenchance Gaming Corp.

The DILG cited reports claiming Evenchance was owned by alleged gambling lord Rodolfo “Bong” Pineda of Pampanga. Evenchance reportedly had a franchise from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to operate small town lottery (STL) in Camarines Sur and Sorsogon.

Those arrested carried STL identification papers as cover for their jueteng operations, according to Robredo.

The head of the Muntinlupa City police, Senior Superintendent Ramiro Bausa, was sacked in April after the National Bureau of Investigation  raided a Muntinlupa house where jueteng draws were allegedly being held regularly, and arrested 16 people.

Earlier this month, the police chiefs of  three municipalities in Negros Oriental were ordered relieved for failing to stop the proliferation of the illegal numbers game Swertres. They were Chief Inspector Dominicias Distrito of Tanjay City, Inspector Romulos Delfin of Dauin, and Inspector Deogracias Lorico of Valencia.

Swertres is a game whose winning combination is derived from the thrice-a-day draws of the three-digit lottery games run by the PCSO. Inquirer Research

Source: Inquirer Archives