Quezon town cop chief axed over jueteng

A municipal police chief in Quezon became the 12th "casualty" of the "one-strike policy" of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Arturo Lomibao following a successful jueteng raid in his turf last weekend.

Lomibao relieved Senior Inspector Roger Fuentes as police chief of Pagbilao town after agents of the PNP’s Task Force Anti-Gambling, headed by Chief Superintendent Florante Baguio, arrested two bet collectors (cobradores) during a raid on a jueteng den at the town’s public market.

"The relief proves that we are not letting our guard down (in the anti-illegal gambling campaign)," Lomibao said.

Under Lomibao’s "one-strike policy," a police chief is immediately relieved from his position after just one successful jueteng raid in his jurisdiction.

Earlier relieved were the provincial police directors of Sorsogon and Davao Oriental and the police chiefs of Tiwi, Albay; Tinambac na Bato, Camarines Sur; Sorsogon City; Meycauayan, Bulacan; Mabalacat, Pampanga; Placer and Cataingan, Masbate; and Talavera, Nueva Ecija.

The PNP renewed its crackdown on jueteng after First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and his son, Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo, and brother, Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo, were accused of receiving payoffs from operators of the illegal numbers game.