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INSIDE CONGRESS

“People who love President  Benigno Aquino 3rd should start moving and show that they really mean business in stopping jueteng.”

Reelectionist Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano once said this amid allegations that jueteng payola continues to bedevil the Aquino administration. Senator Alan is in the minority but he obviously has the welfare of the administration in mind in making this plea. He’s genuinely concerned that jueteng could affect the Aquino presidency but the President does not share such concern. PNoy has said time and again that jueteng is not his priority.

So, what’s his priority? Eradicating corruption, that’s his priority. But, wait! Isn’t jueteng a source of corruption? We all know that the illegal numbers game would not thrive without protection from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and key officials of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and of the local governments.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada claimed that about 30 percent of the gross collections from jueteng are allocated for law enforcement authorities and national and local officials. So, fighting corruption would obviously not succeed without fighting jueteng. But tell that to the Marines, not to the administration that considers fighting corruption a top priority but not fighting jueteng! Reporma o puro porma?

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago once gave this colorful equation: “Albert Einstein, one of the most creative intellects in human history, gave the world the immortal formula ‘E = MC2.’ 
Filipino Einsteins—who number in the millions—have given our politics the undying formula ‘DILG + PNP = Jueteng.’”  She estimated the annual gross receipts from jueteng at P30 billion, with Luzon alone getting a daily collection of P50 million. Definitely, such a huge operation would not prosper without the connivance of police and local officials.

Reelectionist Sen. Koko Pimentel agreed that jueteng would not prosper in any area if there is an honest-to-goodness effort by local government units and the police to go after their operators that are raking in huge profits by targeting the poor.

“Bets placed in jueteng by members of families who live hand-to-mouth existences are money best used to buy food and other necessities,” Koko said.

Eduardo Manugue of the People Power Volunteers for Reform (PPVR)—Pampanga sent this email, which I translated into English: “If PNoy says ‘no jueteng,’ there’ll be no jueteng. He won’t allow the PNP and LGUs to disobey his order. He won’t allow his daang matuwid and kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap to be half-cooked [malasado]. The people call on
President Noynoy and DILG Sec. Mar Roxas—stop jueteng!”

Manugue, who often sends emails against jueteng, also advised Among Ed Panlilio, the administration candidate for governor in Pampanga, to withdraw from the race if the President could not stop jueteng, especially in Pampanga. He said this would make the New Year a happy one for Kapampangans.

When Panlilio was Pampanga governor, he was able to stamp out illegal quarrying but not jueteng. He expressed helplessness in this fight without help from the PNP.

There’s a law against jueteng but it’s not being implemented. Senator Miriam quoted from a Latin maxim attributed to Petronius: “Quid faciat leges, ubi sola pecunia regnat?   What power has the law, where only money speaks? And in the same vein, allow me also to quote Horace: Quid leges sine moribus vanae proficiunt?  Without morals, what can futile law do?”

In fairness to the police, there are some snags in its campaign against the illegal numbers game, like the operation of the legal Small Town Lottery (STL). Persons arrested by the police invariably claim that they were involved not in jueteng but in STL operations. The STL was originally meant to counter jueteng. Unfortunately, it’s now being used as front for the operation of jueteng, just like what the PNP had warned before. Now, police could rightfully express inability to distinguish who are the collectors of the illegal jueteng and who are the collectors of the legal STL.

Aurora Gov. Bellaflor Angara Castillo is one of the rare provinces where there’s no jueteng. No ulterior motives, therefore, could be attributed to Aurora’s foremost son, Sen. Edgardo Angara when he proposed to legalize jueteng. Similar sentiments were echoed by Senator Miriam, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Manila Rep. Amado Bagatsing.

As Jinggoy intoned: “Through legalization, government would collect revenue, finance important government projects and programs, deny syndicates the opportunity to benefit from it, and stamp out corruption.”

Jinggoy and Amado agree that legalized jueteng should be under the supervision of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and that no franchise to operate jueteng shall be given to any person or entity.

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