Espino rival tells gov: Blame self for troubles

DAGUPAN CITY—One of Gov. Amado Espino Jr.’s most bitter political rivals has asked the governor to stop blaming others for the charges that had been filed against him for allegedly protecting illegal gambling in Pangasinan.

Hernani Braganza, mayor of Alaminos City and opponent of Espino in the gubernatorial race next year, said the governor has no one to blame but himself.

“Stop blaming everybody in the province for the unhampered operations of jueteng and other illegal numbers game,” said Braganza, the only Pangasinan mayor who refused to issue a permit to jai-alai operations, in a statement.

No one to blame

“You have no one to blame but yourself for the legal quandary and the political quagmire you are facing at the moment,” he said.

Espino first blamed the province’s mayors for issuing permits for jai-alai games, supposedly the front for jueteng operations in the province, he said.

“Later, he started pointing his finger at me as the source of his political problems,” said Braganza.

“No jueteng, jai alai, black sand mining, quarrying or real property tax increase will take place in Pangasinan without his knowledge and consent,” he said.

Governor’s support

Espino is finding support from other politicians in the province, however.

On Monday, the provincial board, passed a resolution that expressed “continuing confidence” on Espino’s leadership as governor.

Two other groups—Liga ng mga Barangay and Pangasinan Mayors’ League—also passed similar resolutions.

At least 27 of 47 mayors in Pangasinan signed the resolution supporting Espino on Monday.

No ‘jueteng’

In a press conference in this city on Tuesday, Orduña assailed Espino for soliciting support from local officials.

In a press conference in Alaminos City, Braganza said while there is no illegal gambling in his city, the revenue potential of legal forms of gambling for any local government is big.

Expressing a theoretical viewpoint about legal gambling’s economic potentials, Braganza said: “There is no jueteng in Alaminos, but I am not [going to] moralize about the issue.”

He said legal gambling could bring in up to P130 million a year in the case of Alaminos.

P10M offer, too

Braganza said in his press conference yesterday that he had been twice offered P10 million to allow jueteng in Alaminos, which meant that if legal gambling enters any LGU, a “higher tax of 15 to 20 percent” can be imposed.

Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin Lim, in a separate interview, revived a call to legalize jueteng to raise revenue for the government.

He said legalized gambling revenues should also be allocated to police. “You cannot expect a policeman, who earns P8,000 monthly, to be working late at night looking for criminals,” he said.