Jueteng creeps back into Nueva Vizcaya

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — While Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena was calling for a dialogue with the provincial government for a possible job-generation program for jueteng workers, the illegal numbers game slowly crept back here.

Jueteng resurfaced in some villages in Solano town, where operatives of the Camp Crame-based anti-gambling task force arrested a number of jueteng workers during a raid last month.

Last Monday, however, cabos or bet collectors in Solano resumed their trade.

A cabo, who asked not to be identified, said "somebody" had given them the go-signal to collect bets anew.

In fact, the first winning number combination was 32-31, which came out late Monday night.

Jueteng resurfaced in Solano, the usual "jump-off point" whenever the illegal numbers game returns in the province, even as Villena called for a dialogue with provincial and municipal officials to discuss an alternative livelihood program for jueteng workers.

Villena issued the call after jueteng workers displaced by the anti-illegal gambling campaign trooped to his residence twice last month to demand jobs.

The Solano raid last Jan. 16 led to the immediate relief of Senior Superintendent Robert Mangaccat and Chief Inspector Francisco Palattao Jr. as provincial and Solano police chiefs, respectively.

The jueteng workers, who vowed to keep coming back to Villena’s residence, held the bishop accountable for the jueteng raid.

The resurgence of jueteng also came amid political tension gripping the province after the Commission on Elections’ first division issued a resolution last Jan. 31 unseating Gov. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma in favor of former provincial board member Leonardo Perez Jr.

Cuaresma’s lawyers claimed that the resolution is not yet final and executory, while Perez’s camp said it should be enforced immediately, thus sowing confusion among Novo Vizcayanos.

Some quarters suspect that jueteng operators are taking advantage of the political situation.

Chief Inspector Vicente Polinnek, deputy intelligence officer of the provincial police, said they are investigating who are behind the revived jueteng operations in Solano.