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SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga: Gov. Eddie Panlilio and heads of religious
groups in this province have agreed to strengthen their stand
against illegal gambling by conducting an intensified information
campaign against jueteng or the illegal numbers game.
The Catholic priest turned-governor showed his
serious determination to establish whether the legalized small town
lottery (STL) has really replaced jueteng in the province as claimed
by the Philippine National Police (PNP), which some religious
leaders doubt.
“True or not, this is something we have to
look into”, said Governor Panlilio during an anti illegal gambling
round table forum held at the Capitol’s Executive House.
Contrasting claims on the status of small town lottery was
discussed.
Addressing the problem of getting rid of jueteng
is one of the foremost concerns of the governor. In response,
representatives of various religious groups, institutions, NGOs,
academe convened as a sounding board on the subject.
The dialogue also served to inform the PNP that
despite of their strong statement that there is no more jueteng in
Pampanga, the illegal numbers game remained to exist without control
among Kapampangans. There were strong allegations people working, as
STL kobradors are the same people who collect bets for jueteng.
Romualdo Quiñones, department manager III for
Special Projects, representing Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office
(PCSO) gave details as to what and how STL works as well as plans of
PCSO to efficiently monitor STL operations.
According to Quiñones, STL is drawn three times
a day: 12 noon, 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. He said out of the total
collections of bets, 55 percent go for the prize, 30-percent charity
fund, and 15 percent as operating fund.
On the campaign to get rid of illegal gambling
in the province, Supt. Ferdinand Perez, Chief of the Investigations
Branch of the Pampanga PNP presented “oplan roulette,” an
operational plan that intends to apprehend big time operators of
various forms of illegal gambling.
Perez told the crowd that STL is sometimes
misconstrued as jueteng.
While Quiñones appeals to the people to help
the PCSO and PNP to ensure proper and upright operation of STL in
Pampanga, the NGO and religious leaders still believe that STL is
being maintained as a front for jueteng operations.
Pampanga Auxiliary Bishop Pablo “Ambo”
David, suggested to the provincial government to have a mechanism of
coordination that will evaluate if STL has been an effective medium
after the two-year test run in the province.
-- Mark Louie P. Roxas
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