Isabela league joins war vs jueteng

ILAGAN, Isabela — The Isabela Anti-Graft League has forged a "tactical alliance" with the local Catholic Church in the fight against the illegal numbers game jueteng.

This, as unconfirmed reports claimed that certain provincial officials have been "on the take" from jueteng operators.

Raffy Jacinto, the league’s president, said his group has thrown its support behind the anti-jueteng stand of Bishop Sergio Utleg of the Diocese of Ilagan because of the reported "unabated" jueteng operations in the province’s four districts.

"I don’t know what happened to the commitment of some top provincial officials to stop jueteng in the province," said Jacinto, vice gubernatorial runningmate of Gov. Grace Padaca.

He scored what he described as the "deafening silence" of provincial officials on the jueteng issue.

"It’s really a P40-million question why they are tight-lipped on the jueteng issue," he said.

He quoted Utleg as "deeply disappointed" over the alleged involvement of a top provincial official’s relative who reportedly acts as the "bagman" of jueteng operators.

"Gov. Padaca’s oft-repeated declaration to end jueteng in the province has disappeared like a bubble in the air," he said.

During Sunday Masses, Utleg, one of the lead convenors of the Isabela United Opposition, has reportedly been delivering anti-jueteng homilies, claiming a "triumph of evil" due to reports that certain top provincial officials have been "on the take."

The multisectoral Isabela United Opposition was instrumental in Padaca’s victory over re-electionist governor Faustino Dy Jr.

Quoting reports from his members, Jacinto said jueteng exists in almost all of the province’s 32 towns, except in the coastal municipalities of Divilacan, Palanan, Maconacon and Dinapigue.

This, he said, is "notoriously inconsistent" with the report of the provincial police to Padaca that jueteng has already been contained.

Meanwhile, a pastoral letter will be read in all Catholic churches in Isabela condemning jueteng and other illegal activities in the province during the Christ the King celebration this month.