ILOILO – Is illegal gambling in full swing again? Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. wanted to know.
After several months of being kept busy by the coronavirus disease 2019 crisis, the province’s police force, according to Defensor, should focus on illegal gambling.
“Dapat tutokan gid naton kag himuon gid ang tanan nga madula na ina,” the governor stressed.
Just this Jan. 5 in the town of Banate, police caught three persons soliciting bets for Peryahan ng Bayan, deemed illegal by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
They were Eva Dula-ugon, 57, of Barangay Carmelo, Banate; Leizel Toledo, 51, of Barangay San Salvador, Banate; and Rey Espinosa, 58, resident of Barangay Carmelo.
The suspects yielded improvised cotejos, P3,000 bet money and gambling paraphernalia.
“Kalabanan sang illegal nga nagapataya ang nagagamit sang technology kaangay sang cellphone rason nga indi halos madakpan sang kapulisan,” said the governor.
Defensor ordered the province’s top cop, Police Colonel Gilbert Gorero, to further strengthen the province-wide monitoring against illegal gambling. The province has 42 towns and one component city.
Illegal gambling operations such as “bookies” had a resurgence after President Rodrigo Duterte suspended Small Town Lottery, a government legal numbers game, nationwide on July 27, 2019 citing alleged massive corruption in the PCSO.
Nearly a month after, on Aug. 22, 2019, PCSO general manager Royina Garma announced that the President had lifted the suspension order on STL.
However, PCSO’s STL authorized agent corporation in this province, Red Subay Gaming Corp., failed to resume its operation; it complained that could not meet PCSO’s conditions to resume operation, one of which was the agency’s share in the guaranteed monthly retail receipts or its monthly dues.
As of now, Defensor and the PCSO have not yet allowed any STL operators in the province./PN
