Chavit offers P2-M reward for jueteng proof in turf

Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson has offered a P2-million reward for any "solid proof" that jueteng still exists in his province.

"I will give P1 million to anyone who can point to me where jueteng is being operated in Ilocos Sur. The other P1 million will be a bonus for (Dagupan-Lingayen) Archbishop Oscar Cruz," he said in a statement.

This was Singson’s reaction to Cruz’s statement in a recent media forum that Ilocos Sur was one of four provinces where the illegal numbers game was "back with a vengeance."

"There is no jueteng in Ilocos Sur. I have checked with police authorities there and all my local executives and they have assured me that there is no jueteng in my province," he said.

Cruz, who heads the Krusa—dang Bayan Laban sa Jueteng, did not say where he got his information.

Singson, however, said he was certain that whoever supplied Cruz with the report got it from the Estradas, notably Sen. Jinggoy Estrada whom he earlier tagged as "anak ng jueteng (son of jueteng)."

"I am very sure all this disinformation is coming from Jinggoy, the one and only anak ng jueteng. Now that he is a senator, he wants to exact revenge on those who helped bring down his father by also causing their downfall through the same route — the jueteng route," he said.

"Since it was I who blew the jueteng whistle on his father, he is now trying desperately to destroy me by concocting stories about me, blowing an imaginary jueteng whistle on me. I warn him, it will only cause him gas pains," he added.

Singson cautioned Cruz anew to be wary of those who are providing him with reports that could only turn out to be unfounded rumors.

"I urge the good archbishop once again not to allow himself to be used by people with sinister political motives. I am behind him in his campaign. But it should be an honest-to-goodness campaign, not a witch-hunt," he said.