Alleged jueteng lord not filing charges vs attackers

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Alleged gambling lord Melchor Caluag, alias Ngongo, has fully recovered from bullet wounds he suffered during an attempt on his life last Sept. 15, but he has refused to file any charges against his attackers.

"We have no formal complaint, so there’s likely to be no case. But we have information that the shooting was perpetrated by his competitors in alleged jueteng operations," said Superintendent Sonny Cunanan, city police chief.

Cunanan said there are at least four other alleged jueteng operators in Pampanga.

Last Sept. 15, Caluag sustained two gunshot wounds in the abdomen and one in the shoulder when two still unidentified men fired at him and his companion, Ariel Trinidad, as they were leaving a pizza parlor in Barangay Dolores here where Caluag, incidentally, is the chairman. Trinidad was hit in the hand.

Cunanan said Caluag has been discharged from a Quezon City hospital and is now recuperating at his home here.

"He wanted to pursue charges, but his mother and other members of his family were vehemently against it," Cunanan said.

"His mother was emphatically against pursuing any case. She said she wanted the matter to be placed entirely in the hands of God," he said.

But Cunanan said that even Caluag seems afraid of filing any case, apparently fearing for the safety of his five children.

Meanwhile, Cunanan admitted that remaining jueteng operations here are largely done "guerrilla" style, with winning number combinations being drawn in various places, such as in Barangays Telabastagan, Malpitic and Bulaon near Angeles City.

Cunanan said jueteng workers also seek refuge in neighboring Mexico town.

The STAR tried to get in touch with Senior Superintendent Angelito Pacia, Angeles City police chief, but failed.

Earlier, Mayor Carmelo Lazatin, however, denied reports that jueteng has resumed in his city, but noting that the illegal numbers game has resurfaced in other parts of Pampanga.

There are reports that the police have become lenient in their anti-jueteng drive, supposedly "in the spirit of Christmas," as thousands of families reportedly rely on the illegal numbers game for livelihood.