‘Lip service’ drive vs jueteng means bigger payola budget

A ranking police official said yesterday that the government’s alleged "two-faceted" campaign against illegal gambling, jueteng in particular, would only result in bigger payola for unscrupulous police and government officials.

The high-ranking policeman, who talked to The STAR on condition of anonymity, was reacting to reports that Interior Secretary Joey Lina’s one-month-old anti-jueteng campaign has yet to catch big-time gambling lords or "big fish."

"How could you catch the ‘big fish,’ aside from being protected and influential, you can’t find solid evidence to prosecute them. This anti-gambling drive would only benefit its protectors and the gambling lords themselves," the official said.

The official said that once illegal gambling operations stop temporarily, its protectors would take the opportunity to demand increases in protection money from gambling operators using the ‘reinvigorated drive’ against illegal gambling as the excuse.

"Unscrupulous police and government officials would only use the opportunity to ask for bigger payola for gambling operations to continue in their respective areas," he said.

The official said that many big-time gambling operators are known to the authorities but they could not touch them.

"You just can’t arrest them without solid proof of their illegal activity," the official pointed out.

He added that gambling operators would even profit from the anti-gambling campaign for instead of giving protection money to the "high command" they would just work it out with some corrupt local police officials.

"They would only say that they folded up. So, no more intelehensya to protectors in higher command. Tipid, di ba?" he said.

He said that if government is really sincere in phasing out illegal gambling, which according to him is next to impossible, they should amend present laws against it and make them harsher.– Pete Laude