By CYRUS M. GARDE
BACOLOD City — Mayor Monico Puentevella challenged the police here to step up its campaign against illegal gambling, specifically Bingo Milyonaryo.
Puentevella insisted that the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)-sanctioned numbers game is illegal in this city.
It is time for Senior Supt. Pedrito Escarilla, officer-in-charge of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), to prove his worth, said the mayor.
Puentevella said Department of Interior and Local Government secretary Mar Roxas told him to discontinue the numbers game because the department never endorsed or authorized it.
Bingo Milyonaryo operators claimed they have an authority from PCSO, but the mayor said he will follow orders from DILG, not from PCSO.
Chief Supt. Josephus Angan, police regional director, last week directed Escarilla to intensify their anti-illegal gambling drive.
BCPO’s performance against illegal gambling during the past weeks was below par, Angan noted.
He told Escarilla that all police stations here must make operations against illegal drugs, wanted persons, loose firearms, and illegal gambling a priority.
Escarilla took over the BCPO leadership on June 23./PN
