Quote:
DILG to verify list of jueteng lords
MANILA, Philippines - Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said on Wednesday he already has a long list of "jueteng lords" which still needs to be verified.
In an interview with ANC’s Headstart, Robredo said the DILG already has a list of names, but it has yet to identify who gets big sums from the illegal numbers game.
“We have a long list... [But] this needs some validation, pero meron talaga pero hindi pa validated kung sino yung tumatnaggap ng malakihan. In fact, we’re summarizing [the list], and we’ll provide the appropriate authorities yung listahan,” Robredo said.
Last week, retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said he can name two high-profile officials close to President Benigno Aquino III as “jueteng lords.” The archbishop refused to disclose the names, saying it is the job of authorities to verify the report.
After Cruz's exposé, DILG undersecretary for peace and order Rico Puno reported that he had received offers from jueteng lords, but turned them down. Puno is known to have ties with the police force and was appointed DILG undersecretary in charge of police even before Robredo was named secretary of the DILG.
Robredo, however, did not comment on Puno’s links to jueteng, except to say people who have been named should be allowed to explain.
The secretary also added the DILG is addressing the jueteng problem in a “systematic” manner, and has lined out 3 plans to phase out jueteng.
“Let’s offer a competitive alternative to jueteng, yung STL [Small Town Lottery] to make it more attractive. Kapag tao na mismo ang nagsasabi na mas okay ang STL kaysa sa jueteng, I’m sure ang revenues ng STL tataas, ang tao will patronize STL. Legal ang STL sa government,” he said.
Robredo said the original design of STL was made to fail so that jueteng will continue to proliferate in local communities.
Another step is to improve enforcement of laws against illegal gambling. Robredo said jueteng flourishes in communities because of the blessings of both the mayor and the chief of police assigned in the community.
He said they will make sure that erring officials are apprehended once their involvement has been proven by proper authorities.
The secretary said the third strategy is to wean people away from gambling, but, he added, this is no small feat.
“We’ll wean away the people from the gambling culture. Ito yung medyo mahirap-hirap kasi palagay ko, kalahati ng mamamayan gusto magtaya, kalahati, walang ginagawa. Ang atin siguro, we’ll find some ways in which to use it positively,” he said.
Robredo said the DILG will come up with a mechanism under the National Police Commission where complaints will be heard and cases can be filed against jueteng operators.
“Ang pinakatamang closure nito sampahan ng kaso,” he added.
Robredo encouraged witnesses to surface as there is usually no paper trail to prove the existence of jueteng operations.
“We would like as much help as we can. If there are people who want to help us, we’ll gladly extend a helping hand as well. Hindi talaga madali [maging witness] pero the only way to move ahead is to get some witnesses who are willing to take the risk and at the same time provide information,” he said.
