Panlilio hits police claim that CL is jueteng-free

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – Former Pampanga governor Ed Panlilio has slammed the claim of police authorities that Central Luzon is jueteng-free.

Panlilio, who is again seeking the Pampanga gubernatorial post next year, said increased collection from small town lottery (STL) operations in the region is not a guarantee that the illegal numbers game is dead.

Panlilio told journalists in an interview on Friday night that it is an “insult” for regional police authorities to say that jueteng no longer exists in Central Luzon.

“It seems that only the men in uniform do not know that there is jueteng, especially in Pampanga,” he said in Filipino.

He showed journalists two pieces of paper showing proof that he himself was able to place bets on jueteng last Oct. 23.

There have been suspicions that the priest-turned-politician was the “mystery shopper” cited by Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas in an earlier meeting with regional officials at the Clark Freeport.

In that meeting, Roxas asked police officials in Central Luzon led by Chief Superintendent Edgardo Ladao to immediately submit a report on alleged jueteng operations in the region.

Last Wednesday, Ladao called for a press conference at Camp Olivas in San Fernando, Pampanga and announced that Central Luzon is jueteng-free.

He was joined by lawyer Ferdinand Rojas of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and STL franchisees in Central Luzon. 

Ladao said STL collections in the region have increased, showing proof that there are no more jueteng operations in the region.

But he admitted that there are “bookies” who engage in “pocket” operations which he said police units in the region’s seven provinces are seeking to eradicate.

On Friday, Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda declined to comment on supposed jueteng operations in her province.