Fight against ‘jueteng’ losing steam in Metro

The anti- "jueteng" drive waged by Interior Secretary Joey Lina appears to be losing steam in Metro Manila.

Metro Manila police chief Deputy Director General Edgar Aglipay indirectly admitted this as he called for a command conference tomorrow to rejuvenate the "jueteng" drive in the metropolis. "Be ready to brief us on your respective accomplishments with emphasis on campaign against illegal gambling," Aglipay said in his directive to the five police district directors, their staff and the 37 station commanders in Metro Manila.

Records showed that only the Regional Intelligence and Special Operations Office (RISOO), Aglipay’s operating arm, is faring well in the fight against "jueteng" in Metro Manila. So far, RISOO under Superintendent Bayani de la Rea has conducted three successful raids on "jueteng" dens since last month which resulted in the arrest of 44 personnel, bet collectors and cabos and the recovery of at least P30,000 in bets.

The five police districts submitted reports regarding their "jueteng" operations but it was noted that majority of their accom-plishments were "stage-managed" or "hingi-huli" in police parlance. Even Task Force Jericho, the operating arm of Lina, has not gained headway in the fight against "jueteng" in Metro Manila.

A number of police officials told The STAR that Task Force Jericho has conducted a significant number of arrests but what they got were mere bet collectors or "small fry." "They were conducting selective raids and not a single bigtime "jueteng" lord was taken into their custody," one of the police officials said.

Because of the dismal performance of the police districts in their "jueteng" campaigns, the NCRPO instituted last month a P10,000 reward for informants which resulted in the three successful RISOO raids.

Aglipay said the gathering of top Metro Manila policemen tomorrow is aimed to reverse the situation and make the anti-"jueteng" drive of Lina a success.

"We will now focus our attention on our drive against illegal gambling," said Aglipay as he reiterated his warning to relieve police officials found remiss in their duties.

Aglipay has sacked a precinct commander each in Quezon City and Manila for allegedly abetting the operation of "jueteng" in their jurisdictions.