Roxas orders 'jueteng' probe vs Pangasinan guv

MANILA, Philippines - Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas on Friday said the department will conduct a full-blown investigation into allegations that Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr. has been operating jueteng in the province and receiving at least P800 million monthly in protection money.

The allegations were made by Mayor Ricardo Orduna of Bugallon, Pangasinan, a self-confessed jueteng operative with whom Espino had a recent falling out over their supposed “business arrangements” and Barangay Chairman Fernando Alimagno, a known jueteng financier in the province.

“Tinitiyak ko kay Mayor Orduna ang aking suporta. Lalo na at alam kong inilagay niya ang kanyang sarili at ang kanyang pamilya sa

peligro, kaya naman gagamitin ko ang kapangyarihan ng aking tanggapan sang-ayon sa batas upang imbestigahan ang usaping ito at tutukan ito hanggang katapusan,” Roxas said in a press briefing in Camp Crame.

Meanwhile,Roxas ordered the reshuffling of police personnel in Pangasinan to determine culpability, if any, and to guarantee that there will be no whitewash in the probe.

Also during the press briefing,a certain Senior Superintendent Wilson Lopez was implicated in the jueteng operation. Lopez allegedly acted as Espino’s go-between guy and jueteng collector.

Before the press conference, Orduna filed a plunder case against Espino before the Ombudsman, and presented as evidence his and Alimagno’s sworn statements detailing their role and association with Espino in running jueteng in Pangasinan.

“These are documented, actionable complaints. We have two insiders who have come out in the open, and have submitted sworn statements, which will be the basis of the Department of the Interior and Local Government to conduct a thorough investigation,” Roxas said.

“I advise Governor Espino to get a good lawyer,” Roxas said.

He also promised a swift and thorough investigation based on the provisions of several applicable laws including the Anti-Graft Law, the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Plunder Law or Republic Act 7080.

“With my background in finance, I know that when money flows, there will be a trail. We will use the anti-money laundering law para makita ang money trail,” he said.

In his sworn statement, Orduna claimed that he personally handed to Espino some P2.5 million every week for several years since Espino became governor of Pangasinan.

He said Espino used to receive a smaller amount of P750,000 weekly when he was still only a congressman in the province.

Roxas vowed to protect the witnesses and their families and said Orduna and Alimagno will be taken under the care of some religious organizations pending their inclusion in the Witness Protection Program.