By EUGENE ADIONG
BACOLOD City — Nine suspected collectors of bets for the illegal numbers game, “bookies,” have been arrested in Isabela town.
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) operatives raided a house in Barangay 2 and caught the suspects tallying alleged bookies bets.
Arrested were the house owners, Heraldito Delgado, 50, and wife Ester Delgado, 45, and their daughter, Ezil Delgado.
Herminia Invidiado, 56, and cousin Mariamelisa Invidiado, 33, Marte Antenorcruz, 26, and John Mark Cordero, all of Isabela; Alvin Lamis, 33, of Bago City; and Alien Pasco, 31, of Silay City, were collared, too.
Seized during the operation at about 7 p.m. on Saturday were P8,500 in bet money and several gambling paraphernalia.
Bookies uses Small Town Lottery, a numbers game sanctioned by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, as front.
CIDG’s chief clerk SPO4 Regie Antolin said they received a tip about the operation in Isabela about a month ago. The operatives staged the raid upon verifying the information, he said.
The suspects were charged with violation of Presidential Decree 1602 before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office yesterday./PN
