Jueteng lull pleases P’sinan bishop

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — Believe it or not: There’s no more jueteng in the province — at least since last Friday.

The lull in the illegal numbers game, reportedly operated by someone from Pampanga, came two weeks after a Church-initiated survey, the fourth in two years, showed that jueteng was still rampant in many barangays in the province.

"I’m very happy with this development," said Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, national chairman of the Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng (Jueteng-Free Philippines).

Senior Superintendent Mario Sandiego, provincial police director, told The STAR in a phone interview that he could not turn his back on Cruz’s request to help him rid Pangasinan of jueteng.

Sandiego assumed the post last June 20, while the latest jueteng survey covered the months of April to June this year.

"We have to act. We cannot disregard the good archbishop’s request," he said.

After receiving the survey results, Sandiego ordered local police chiefs to intensify their anti-gambling efforts just as their men are going without let-up after drug pushers.

With the stepped-up anti-jueteng campaign, Sandiego said he expects gambling maintainers to operate "guerrilla style."

Cruz said that if the jueteng stoppage is sustained until November, Pangasinan "could finally produce an awardee" in the second Parangal Para sa mga Mararangal.

The Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng launched the awards last year to give recognition to public officials supportive of the anti-jueteng campaign.

Cruz earlier lamented the absence of any Pangasinan official in the list of awardees.

Sandiego said part of his plan is to work closely with the archbishop in educating the public about the evils of jueteng by forming a speakers’ bureau composed of police personnel.

He lamented that people don’t consider jueteng to be illegal and immoral, which explains why they don’t cooperate with the police in reporting illegal gambling operations.

He said he believes that with the police and Cruz collaborating, the people will be enlightened about the evils of jueteng.

But Sandiego added, "I’m not a saint. I cannot totally stop this overnight. It will take generations to get rid of this problem."