Jai-alai gets permits in 23 Pangasinan towns

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Philippines  – At least 23 towns in Pangasinan are now operating jai-alai and the provincial police director said it is not being used as front for jueteng.

Senior Superintendent Rosueto Ricaforte, Pangasinan police director, yesterday said he got reports three days earlier that the mayors of 23 towns have issued permits for jai-alai operations.

Ricaforte, however, said Gov. Amado Espino Jr. had nothing to do with the jai-alai operations, adding that an operator only needs to secure a mayor’s permit.

In the capital town of Lingayen alone, there are three jai-alai betting stations, he said.

Espino earlier said he had no hand in jai-alai operations in the province, explaining, too, that the mayors were the ones responsible for issuing permits.

Ricaforte belied claims that jai-alai was just being used as front for jueteng.

“You know, jai-alai is a legal online game. We checked that when they started. We found out that they have all the legal documents to operate,” he said.

As such, he said they could not do anything as they are only after jueteng, an illegal numbers game.

He added that jai-alai bet collectors wear uniforms and identification cards. 

Ricaforte also denied that Meridien Vista Gaming Corp. is operating illegally in Pangasinan as its operations are supposedly confined to the Cagayan Export Zone Authority (CEZA), saying he has read a court order stating otherwise.

Secretary Antonio Villar Jr., chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board who hails from Pangasinan, warned mayors who granted permits to Meridien that they face serious trouble for doing so.

Villar said it is pathetic that some mayors are in a hurry to welcome jai-alai operations in their jurisdiction allegedly in exchange for a considerable amount. 

“They should have waited for the Loterya ng Bayan being readied by the national government to replace jueteng soon where the government and the people would benefit through the sharing scheme to be adopted,” he said. 

He said it is illegal for Meridien to operate outside CEZA, based on reports he has gathered.