24 nabbed in jueteng den raids

At least 24 jueteng personnel and bet collectors were arrested Wednesday in an intensified anti-illegal gambling drive conducted by the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) in Metro Manila.

This brings to 66 the number of people arrested since the Church and the citizenry started cooperating last week in the police drive to rid the metropolis of jueteng, Metro police chief Director Ricardo de Leon said.

"We have been receiving information as to areas where winning combinations of jueteng are being drawn and we are taking action on them," said De Leon.

But he emphasized that the police chiefs of Caloocan City and the Marikina City were spared from being relieved under the Philippine National Police "one-strike policy" because the raids conducted in their jurisdiction was a joint operation.

Combined operatives of the Regional Intelligence and Special Operations Office (RISOO), the Regional Special Action Unit (RSAU) and the local police first swooped down on a jueteng den located at 187 De la Paz street, Sta. Elena, Marikina City at 9:30 a.m. last Wednesday.

Arrested in the act of drawing the jueteng winning combinations were Nick Valenton, 25; Sylvia Soriano, 41; Coradela Cruz, 41; Salvador Reyes, 57; Agapito Ciriaco, 58; Jeymar Valenton, 26, and Mardy Pabona, 19. They yielded jueteng bet lists and cash bets.

Four hours later, the same team headed by RISSO chief Superintendent Orlando Yebra Jr., and Senior Inspector Tito Datu of RSAU, arrested Leo Reyes, 19, and Robert Bernardo, 25, while collecting jueteng bets in Caloocan City.

Thirty minutes later they raided a shanty in Barangay 20 and arrested eight involved in jueteng, namely: Joselito Merced, 39; Violeta Mandapat, 40; Gloria Anonay, 56; Ricardo Gonzales, 39; Enrique Tabor, 64; Roberto Joseph, 40; Randy Manuel, 30, and Richard Billones, 50.

A separate team raided another shanty located along Libis Cochico street, C-3 and arrested Johnny Olandes, 36; Rizaldy Gullon, 19; Rowena Corpin, 23; Mary Jane Tanggol, 19; Mark Tan, 54; Yasmin de la Cruz, 19, and Mary Grace Dionisio, 18.

De Leon ordered the filing of illegal gambling charges against those arrested before the city prosecutor’s office of Caloocan and Marikina.