Police station commanders warned vs receiving jueteng payoff

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Police District director Chief Superintendent Roberto Rongavilla has warned his 11 police station commanders against offer of weekly payoff from a known jueteng lord who is reportedly planning to expand his operations in Manila.

“Let this serve as warning. I will immediately relieve from his post the station commander once jueteng is found in his jurisdiction, no ifs, no buts,” Rongavilla said.

Rongavilla is reacting to intelligence reports that a certain “Boy Arujado” and “Josie,” the alleged henchmen of jueteng lord Allan Manuela, are offering a five-figure sum of weekly payoff to police officials in exchange for their unhampered operation in Manila. The report also stated that Manuela is lording it over the illegal numbers game in Muntinlupa through payoffs from ranking police and local officials in the city. Due to his successful operation in Muntinlupa, Manuela is reportedly planning to expand his base in Manila.

Agents from the National Bureau of Investigation arrested yesterday Manuela’s cabos (operations manager) identified as Marvin Manalo and Malou Reyes, following the arrest Thursday of another cabo, Joseph Duran, in Muntinlupa market while collecting jueteng bets. Jueteng stubs and bets were seized from the suspects, according to the source. 

Rongavilla, however, gave assurances that Manila will remain jueteng-free despite the reported resurgence of the illegal numbers game in other cities in Metro Manila.

He said Manila is still a jueteng-free city due to the active monitoring of police officials who fear the “one-strike” policy of Philippine National Police chief Director General Raul Bacalzo of relieving police station commanders once their areas of jurisdiction yield jueteng operations.

The same source has confirmed that financiers of jueteng have expanded their operations despite the government’s crackdown against the illegal numbers game.

Earlier, Bacalzo issued the “one strike policy” as an offshoot of the brouhaha involving several police officials for allegedly receiving payolas from jueteng operations. Bacalzo’s directive was aimed to reform the image of the PNP.