Operators of jueteng and other illegal numbers game may take advantage of the suspension of lotto and STL (Small-Town Lottery) operations to resume their activities, a top police official said.
In fact, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde said that they already received intelligence reports of resumption of jueteng operations in at least two provinces in Central Luzon on Saturday – a day after President Duterte ordered the suspension of all games licensed by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
It was also on Saturday when the PNP was busy shutting down lotto and STL outlets across the country.
“There is a possibility of the resurgence of illegal numbers game, particularly jueteng. We are currently validating information we have been receiving regarding this,” said Albayalde.
Albayalde said that he had instructed his men to monitor the activities in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
If there are still people collecting bets, Albayalde said that it means an illegal numbers game is ongoing.
“We still do not know if the suspension (of PCSO games) would be temporary or what. There may be some people or groups that may take advantage of that,” said Albayalde.
President Duterte suspended all PCSO-licenses games reportedly due to massive corruption.
More than 30,000 outlets of lotto, STL, Keno and Peryahan ng Bayan were shut down since Saturday.
But long before the President’s order, reports of jueteng operations have already been reported in various parts of Luzon.
STL was allowed to operate in an attempt to kill jueteng operations.
But it did not.
Based on the past intelligence reports of the police, some STL operators are using STL as a front for jueteng operations.
The modus is that STL collectors would not remit the bets to the STL and instead to the jueteng operators.
Police said that every time jueteng collectors are arrested, they would present their STL identification cards.
STL operators would then file criminal and administratibe cases against the arresting police team to send a message that they should be left alone.
This modus has long been complained by the PNP.
Jueteng has been one of the major sources of corruption for both the police and the local government officials due to overflowing protection racket.
Albayalde warned all police commanders to initiate moves to ensure that jueteng would not thrive while PCSO games are suspended. (Aaron Recuenco)
