Lomibao orders relief of precinct commander

A precinct commander of the Malabon City police force was ordered relieved by Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Arturo Lomibao following the arrest of 14 people during an anti-illegal gambling raid in his turf last May 11.

"We are in the process of carrying out the relief order against Senior Inspector Raymundo Agustin, commander of the precinct in Barangay Bayan-Bayanan, Malabon," said Senior Superintendent Felipe Rojas Jr., intelligence chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

Elements of the Anti-Illegal Gambling Task Force (AIGTF) under Lomibao swooped down on a jueteng den in Bayan-Bayanan last May 11 and caught 14 people in the act of collecting bets.

Rojas said the raiders confiscated P1,935 in bets and gambling paraphernalia.

He pointed out that the precinct commander would be the fourth ranking police official to be relieved under the leadership of Metro police chief Director Vidal Querol.

Lomibao has implemented a "one-strike" policy for officials found to be remiss in the campaign against the illegal numbers game.

Following the Malabon City raid, Querol ordered his five district directors to intensify their campaign against illegal gambling.

There have been reports that an influential gambling lord is conducting a one-week jueteng "dry-run" in the metropolis to determine whether the illegal numbers game is still being patronized by Metro Manilans.

Rojas said Querol has a standing order to stop "at all cost" the resurgence of jueteng in the metropolis.