ON JUETENG ISSUE

STA. BARBARA— The battle over jueteng in Malasiqui is far from over, Rep. Rachel Arenas of the third district of Pangasinan slammed Mayor Armando Domantay of Malasiqui for reportedly attempting to restore jueteng in his town after it was stopped two months ago.

Arenas spurned the request of Domantay for a dialogue with her ostensibly to discuss the jueteng issue. Malasiqui is one of only two towns in the province where jueteng does not operate. The other is Burgos.

In an interview with the PUNCH, the congresswoman said that if the agenda for the dialogue is jueteng she won’t agree to any meeting or compromise as she cannot discuss anything illegal with anyone.

Clarifying that she has nothing personal against the mayor Arenas, however, expressed surprise why Domantay is persistent in having a dialogue with her when he always declined past invitations including her personal invitation to him on her birthday.

Arenas said that in seeking the return of jueteng in his town, it is an admission on the part of the mayor that there was jueteng in his area that operated with his knowledge.

“Puede siyang ma-charge no’n. Kasi, sinasabi niyang pinatigil ang jueteng ibig sabihin, alam niyang may jueteng,” Arenas said, raising her voice.

Domantay, in a statement to newsmen prior to his trip to the United States three weeks ago, lamented the stoppage of jueteng in his town, which he said led to deprivation of means of livelihood for many of his constituents.

He said that if jueteng has to stop in Malasiqui, he asked that it should be uniformly stopped in other towns of the third district of Pangasinan or in the entire province.

In a talk to newsmen while conducting project inspection in barangay Alibago, Sta. Barbara, Arenas said Domantay insisted that it was she who caused the stoppage of jueteng in Malasiqui.

When told that Domantay accuses her of being responsible for stopping jueteng in Malasiqui, Arenas quipped: “That is wrong. Who am I to stop jueteng? I have no police power.”

Earlier, Domantay and Arenas also reportedly clashed over the conduct of the controversial election for district representative of the Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative (Cenpelco) which was won by the mayor’s son Eric.

On top of these, Arenas suspects that the mayor may have had a hand in the disappearance of her tarpaulins describing her projects in Malasiqui. LM

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