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A CONGRESSMAN yesterday urged the new leadership of the National Police to crack down on policemen who are coddling illegal gambling operators in cahoots with local government officials.
“We hope the PNP under the leadership of [Dir. Gen.-designate Oscar] Calderon will succeed in its commitment to eradicate illegal gambling in the country,” said Rep. Joel Mayo Almario of Davao Oriental, chairman of the House committee on games and amusements.
“And we trust that he will fulfill his vow to continue purging the police organization of misfits in uniforms to ensure success of the antiillegal gambling drive,” he added.
He noted that the police had earlier announced a one-strike policy in its antijueteng campaign but the policy failed to stop operations of the illegal gambling in several areas in the country.
“We’ve heard past PNP chiefs declare [he would] stamp out illegal gambling and [even] set deadlines for their objective, but [they] have only disappointed the public because the problem of illegal gambling continues until this time,” the congressman said.
He noted that previous heads of the police may have failed because of the alleged involvement of police officials and local government executives in illegal gambling activities.
In Cagayan Valley, Bishop Ramon Villena of Bayombong have repeatedly called on regional police officials to clamp down on illegal gambling in the region but it still continues to this day with the connivance with a top Nueva Vizcaya provincial official.
Villena even publicly named the alleged operators of the illegal jueteng numbers game in his ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Villena identified the maintainers of jueteng in Nueva Vizcaya as Jojo Casabar and Joe Aleta, allegedly from Santiago City.
The bishop claimed the protection money for policemen was allegedly distributed by Supt. Antonio Abellon, whom he accused of being involved in jueteng since the time of (former) provincial police director (Romeo) Hilomen.
In 2004, Abellon was sacked as head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Unit in Ilagan, Isabela for allegedly asking some P400,000 from a businessman who is associated with former Isabela Gov. Benjamin Dy and the slain Ilagan Mayor Delfin Albano.
Villena claimed the financier of the illegal activity was a certain Ronald Villegas, who is allegedly from Pangasinan. The one in-charge of bet collection is allegedly Alex Mauricio.
Villena noted that Mauricio has been identified as a jueteng operator many times in the past but continues to operate because of the alleged protection of Abellon, who is his brother-in-law.
Last month, Bambang town police director Chief Insp. Peter Cambri was relieved after 16 jueteng bet collectors were arrested in Barangay San Antonio in his jurisdiction.
Last January, Senior Supt. Robert Mangaccat was also relieved for the rampant illegal gambling in Nueva Vizcaya. Mangaccat was relieved along with former Solano police chief Francisco Palattao after special teams from the National Police’s antiillegal gambling special operations task force arrested 15 persons who were drawing jueteng lottery in Barangay Washington in Solano.
In August last year, Supt. James Afalla, former commander of the police’s provincial mobile group, Bayombong former police director Chief Insp. Dionisio de Guzman and Supt. Johnny Abalang were relieved after they were found inside a house which a police team raided because of information that jueteng collectors were turning in their collections.
“It’s best for any PNP chief to keep his mouth shut and just surprise the public with his achievements,” stressed the chairman of the House committee on games and amusements.
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