Chief Superintendent Manuel Cabigon, head of the task force, warned that heads will roll should police commanders continue to ignore the campaign against jueteng and other forms of illegal gambling. "I’m not joking when I ask concerned police officials to clean their areas of illegal gambling. Sorry na lang kung tamaan sila," Cabigon said in an interview.
He said seven of those arrested were collecting jueteng bets when apprehended by his men, headed by Chief Inspector Christopher Birung in Mandaluyong City.
The suspects were identified as Leovigildo Cruz, 66; Alberto Bullalao, 62; Loleng Regado, 58; Naria Manlangit, 50; Leonora Intalan, 31; Nene Cortez, 63, and Dolores Santos, 40. They yielded cash in various denominations and jueteng paraphernalia.
Another Jericho team, headed by Inspector Bienvenido Reydado, confiscated a video karera machine located along Building 25, Temporary Housing on Road 10, Vitas, Tondo.
Later, a team led by PO2 John Wayne Versoza arrested Rowena Morales, 30, during a raid at a racehorse bookie joint at 1062-B 19 de Junio street also in Tondo.
Morales yielded P380, P20 of which was the bet placed by SPO4 Armando Bungay on a horse race. A mini-calculator and a photo copy of a betting list were also confiscated.
Cabigon is hoping that the series of raids in Metro Manila would serve as a warning against station commanders who are "sleeping on the job."
He said he has been receiving reports from concerned citizens on jueteng activities. "We will act on all complaints reaching us no matter who gets hurt," he said. – Non Alquitran