No jueteng in C. Luzon, insists police director

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — Despite reports of sporadic jueteng in some areas in Central Luzon, the regional police director insisted in a report to Camp Crame that the illegal numbers game is now non-existent in his jurisdiction.

"I have checked published reports that jueteng has resurfaced in some areas in Pampanga, Bataan, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac only to find out that the bettings observed there did not pertain to jueteng but to the legal Easy 2 game of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)," Chief Superintendent Alejandro Lapinid told The STAR yesterday.

After finding this out, Lapinid said he sent a report to Camp Crame last Friday declaring Central Luzon, dubbed by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel as the "Vatican of jueteng" in the country, free of the illegal numbers game.

He said investigators even sought out those who reportedly cast bets to verify if jueteng has, indeed, resumed.

But he said, "All of them were able to produce tickets (showing) that they bet on Easy 2, not jueteng."

"I am glad local officials in Central Luzon are really supporting our drive against jueteng. Just recently, all mayors in Bataan even forged a covenant vowing to ensure that jueteng does not come back," he said.

According to Lapinid, jueteng totally ceased in Central Luzon last May 5, two days after he took over as regional police director.

An estimated 100,000 people were displaced by the government crackdown on jueteng in Central Luzon alone.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development has allocated funds for livelihood loans of P5,000 each for the displaced jueteng workers.