‘Jericho’ hit for beto-beto raid in Nueva Ecija

Task Force Jericho, the anti-illegal gambling unit of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), may be aggressive in pursuing its objective, but Sen. Robert Barbers is not impressed.

Barbers, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs, even took potshots at the task force when told in a public hearing yesterday that its men not only raided suspected jueteng dens but also a beto-beto joint in Nueva Ecija.

Chief Superintendent Reynaldo Berroya, former Central Luzon police director, said elements of Task Force Jericho were dispatched to Nueva Ecija and arrested operators of beto-beto, a popular but illegal gambling game using three dice.

This led Sen. Rodolfo Biazon to inquire sarcastically if there were similar raids on cara y cruz, or heads and tails, and larong gagamba, where bets are placed on fighting spiders.

Barbers asked DILG Undersecretary Marius Corpus that the department restudy the concept of forming special task forces.

"Why should you send a special task force to Nueva Ecija just to arrest beto-beto players? That is a waste of time, money and effort. Beto-beto is a game of children and is not even syndicated!" the senator exclaimed.

During the public hearing on the operations against illegal gambling, notably jueteng, Corpus revealed that the government is now applying the Anti-Money Laundering Law in a bid to corner suspected jueteng operators, including Bong Pineda of Pampanga.

Corpus said that while there is public knowledge on the involvement of Pineda in jueteng, authorities still do not have sufficient evidence that would bring him to court.