Singson bats for jueteng legalization

Former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson is doing a Charlie "Atong" Ang by proposing the legalization of jueteng, Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri (Lakas, Bukidnon) said yesterday.

Zubiri said President Arroyo should not bite Singson’s proposal because "making it legal doesn’t make it right."

"Making the government operate jueteng doesn’t make the illegal numbers game good. I don’t see how putting it under the aegis of the government would allow it to undergo a benevolent transformation," he said.

He said making jueteng legal would only confer legitimacy to illegal gambling operators, many of whom are friends of Singson and Ang.

Zubiri reminded Mrs. Arroyo that making illegal gambling operators appear legitimate during the Estrada administration was the sole purpose of Ang when he launched Bingo 2-Ball under the sponsorship of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

He recalled that by Singson’s own admission, a fight with Ang over gambling turf prompted Singson to turn his back on their common friend, ousted President Joseph Estrada.

He said the list of Bingo 2-Ball "franchisees" recruited by Ang was composed mostly of jueteng operators and proves that Ang’s brainchild was merely a cover for illegal gambling.

Zubiri also said he cannot accept Singson’s proposition that the government has to legalize jueteng because it has not been able to eradicate it.

"I cannot accept that. We cannot be that helpless," he said.

He said all it takes is for the concerned authorities to mount a no-nonsense campaign to go after illegal gambling operators.

"That means keeping their noses clean. Once a police chief or a local executive accepts money from the operators, the government will fail in its campaign. Worse, illegal gambling will flourish," he stressed.

The Mindanao congressman pointed out that the Arroyo administration has the high moral ground to eradicate jueteng and other forms of illegal gambling.

"Remember that the beginning of the end of Erap was jueteng," he said. – Jess Diaz