42 nabbed in Metro jueteng raids

A total of 42 jueteng personnel and bet collectors were arrested by elements of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) in an intensified anti-illegal gambling drive in Metro Manila in last two days.

The arrests refuted claims made last month by 1,608 barangay chairmen in Metro Manila of "zero jueteng" in the metropolis.

Metro police chief Director Ricardo de Leon said the arrests were made by elements of the Regional Intelligence and Special Operations Office (RISOO) and Regional Special Action Unit (RSAU) with help from police stations in areas where jueteng, an illegal numbers game, continue to flourish.

De Leon said the raids were conducted with the full cooperation of the Church and the citizenry that regularly reports the presence of jueteng operations in their neighborhood.

"We have been receiving text messages. Citizens have been forwarding jueteng locations which we are acting upon immediately," De Leon said.

The Metro police chief said combined elements of RISOO under Superintendent Orlando Yebra and RSAU headed by Senior Superintendent Tito Dato, together with the local police, simultaneously raided two jueteng joints located in Tuklas, Barangay Cupang and 388 Purok 4, Alabang in Muntinlupa City.

Arrested were 30 personnel and bet collectors. The raiders confiscated jueteng paraphernalia and P1,416 in cash bets.

De Leon said Yebra’s men also arrested seven bettors in Caloocan City, two bettors each in Marikina City and Taguig and one in Navotas. They recovered P1,000 in cash.

The NCRPO chief said those arrested are undergoing tactical interrogation to determine their financiers.

After Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. ordered an intensified anti-jueteng drive last month, some barangay chairmen issued certifications that jueteng operators have long closed shop in their areas of responsibility.

De Leon ordered Superintendent Rogelio Damazo, NCRPO intelligence chief, to verify and validate the barangay chairmen’s "zero jueteng" claim. The recent raids confirmed that jueteng is very much alive in Metro Manila.

Based on statements from the arrested suspects, Damazo revealed that jueteng in the metropolis is being operated "guerrilla style."

"They move from one place to another to evade pursuing police raiders, but we managed to trick them this time," said Damazo. He refused to elaborate.

According to him, majority of jueteng operators no longer hold draws for the winning combinations anymore.

"Itinatawag na lang ang mga nanalong numero kaya’t kadalasan walang nananalo. May daya na kasi," he said.

Earlier, De Leon reiterated the PNP’s standing "no take policy" on jueteng. He warned his five district directors and 37 station commanders of relief should they be found remiss in the anti-jueteng campaign.

But De Leon explained that the station commanders of Muntinlupa City, Marikina City, Caloocan City, Taguig and Navotas remained clean of the PNP’s "three-strike policy" because they acted accordingly when informed of the presence of jueteng in their jurisdiction.