Why not Dagupan?

EVERY man on the street in Dagupan is nodding in agreement to the recent revelation made by Councilor Luis Samson Jr. about the resurgence of jueteng and other illegal gambling operations in the city.

It was a brave effort for Samson to speak out what most everyone already knew but were either afraid, helpless and simply hopeless about or contentedly benefitting from.

Samson’s privilege speech last week was aimed at one goal: put a stop to illegal gambling which damages society and sustains corruption among politicians and policemen through payola received from the operators. But Samson, chairman of the committee on peace and order and police matters, himself acknowledges that he and the city council as a whole, with legislation as their main function, can only do so much.

And so he is calling on those who have the power to address and solve the problem: the city’s top official, Mayor Benjamin Lim, with support from the police authorities.

It is not an impossible mission. As Samson cited, there are several local government units around the country that have successfully thrashed jueteng in their area. Among these is Naga City when now Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo was mayor and another is right here in Pangasinan — Alaminos City under Mayor Hernani Braganza. The key to these jueteng-free LGUs has been political will on the part of their elected leader, either the governor or the mayor.

But Dagupan City’s Lim appears to be totally dispassionate about the issue. He does admit that Samson is “probably” right, but could not care less about confirming it. Lim even gives an indication that he feels curbing illegal gambling operations is not in any way his responsibility by throwing the issue back at Samson (to give more proof) so that the police and other enforcers — not him — can do something about it. Lim also washes his hands off the matter by asserting that he is not gaining from the illegal operations, he just believes that he cannot really do anything about it.

The mayor’s attitude is not just utterly disappointing, it also casts a shadow on whether indeed he is not on the take from illegal gambling operations and puts into question his sincerity about serving the people and pushing for meaningful development in the city.

So when Samson asks, “Why can’t Dagupan (do it)?”

It’s because the mayor couldn’t be bothered, at least not today.

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