Vizcaya bishop threatens to name jueteng coddlers

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena has threatened to expose police and local officials whom he claimed have been protecting jueteng operators here if the illegal numbers game continues to proliferate in his diocese.

In his latest tirade against jueteng, Villena claimed that he was able to obtain a list of those receiving jueteng payola, adding that he has in possession verified documents to support his allegation.

"I’m not afraid to go public and name those in the jueteng payola," he said over the Church-run local radio station dwRV.

Gov. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma, in a directive dated April 14, asked Superintendent Ruben Catabona, officer-in-charge of the provincial police command, to stop jueteng and other forms of illegal gambling in the province.

However, a week after Cuaresma issued the directive, jueteng still persists.

Catabona, however, said they are doing their best in eradicating all illegal activities here, including jueteng. But the local Catholic Church seems unconvinced of his pronouncements.

Villena said jueteng can be stopped if the police want to. "They know very well who are those to be arrested in connection with jueteng. But they are not willing and brave enough to arrest them," he said.