Espino: Stop jueteng!
No more jueteng, says Ricaforte
LINGAYEN–Believe it or not, jueteng has again been completely stopped in Pangasinan.
Newly-installed provincial police director, Senior Superintendent Rosueto Ricaforte reported the complete halt of jueteng operations in the province shortly a few days after he was ordered by Gov. Amado Espino Jr. to clear the Pangasinan of jueteng operations.
“At this point in time we now have zero jueteng in Pangasinan,” Ricaforte announced to newsmen on September 15 after the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) meeting held here.
The police earlier reported of series of anti-jueteng operations in various towns that led to the arrest of several bet collectors and “cabos” and the confiscation of bets totaling few hundred pesos.
“If the jueteng operators will persist, we are ready to arrest and put them to jail,” said Ricaforte.
He said if the jueteng operators continue to operate underground “we will also go underground just to stop them.”
The RPOC is headed by Governor Amado Espino Jr. who on Tuesday directed the mayors of the 44 towns and three cities in the province to order their respective chiefs of police to finally put a stop to the popular illegal numbers game.
At the same time, Espino also flatly denied insinuations by retired Dagupan-Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz, founding chair of the Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Sugal, as well as by Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza that he is involved in the operation of jueteng in the province.
SMALL FISH
Supt. Geraldo Roxas, police-community relations head, said they have since intensified efforts to arrest those collecting jueteng bets.
“Puspusan ngayon ang paghuli sa sinumang nagpapataya,” he said during the KBP forum last Thursday.
He further explained that the arrests are focused on the bet collectors because evidence against them could be easily gathered since they carry papelitos, ballpens and the collected bets.
Roxas said if witnesses will come forward, the police are also prepared to go after the jueteng financiers and operators who are behind the distribution of payola to some politicians, police officials and media practitioners.
“(K)ung may makapagtuturo kung sino ang mga maintainers or operators huhulihin namin,” he said.
Roxas also called on the public to refrain from participating in the illegal game saying, “Huwag nang tumaya para wala ring magpataya.”
GUERILLA OPERATIONS
Meanwhile, Ricaforte echoed earlier statements by Espino that jueteng operations in Pangasinan, were largely the “guerilla-type” that saw jueteng operators moving constantly in different places to evade dertection by the police.
“By guerilla operations, we mean including raffling of winning numbers on moving vans and even on board motorized bancas,” Ricaforte said.
In Dagupan, Mayor Benjamin Lim acknowledged that there are jueteng operations in the city but that these are “off and on” because the draws are reportedly held outside the city.
Lim has ordered the city police chief, P/ Supt. Romeo Caramat Jr., to take immediate steps to stop jueteng although he did not sound hopeful that the job could be done.
Lim said he personally favors the legalization of jueteng and its strict enforcement by the government so that more taxes will accrue to government.
The provincial chief also said intelligence operations in all towns will be intensified to make sure that jueteng is permanently stopped province-wide.
Ricaforte said no deadline for the police operations against jueteng will be set as “the police are reactionary and responds only to any given situation” at this time even as he expressed lament that the police do not have enough manpower to constantly monitor the illegal gambling activities.
ELECTION
The police chief also pointed out that the provincial command is also currently preparing for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on October 25, which are expected to be less peaceful and orderly than the May 10 national and local elections.
“It is during the Barangay and SK elections when we will need more personnel in our province to maintain peace and order,” Ricaforte said.—LM
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