Jueteng still flourishing
in Isabela, officials say
The Manila Times 04/26/2005
by Florante Solmerin, Northern Luzon Bureau
ILAGAN, Isabela: The illegal numbers game
jueteng continues to flourish in the province despite public
outrage, especially from the Catholic diocese of Ilagan and other
local churches, while some local officials are calling for its
stoppage.
“In Northern Luzon I think Isabela is now the
favorite place of gambling lords, where they can operate jueteng
with impunity. I could not imagine why Isabela has to look
like this, being one of the most competitive provinces now in the
jueteng industry,” a town mayor told The Manila Times.
The mayor, who requested anonymity, said he has
been receiving death treats through text messages since he went
public in condemning jueteng operations in the province, which he
said was being protected by “despicable local officials and police
officers.”
He said among the jueteng managers in the
province were members of prominent political clans who have deep
connections from “big-time” national political figures.
“The operation of illegal gambling is jut like
politics. For instance, jueteng is now under the disposition
by influential people who have strong political ties at the national
level. Jueteng is really profitable here in Isabela. Those
people involved in jueteng are amassing money in millions
everyday,” the mayor said.
Reliable sources said that a certain Melchor
Calauag, alias “Ngongo,” and Michael Borja, alias “Caloy,”
are serving as jueteng financiers in the province.
“Ngongo is allegedly taking care of giving
payolas to some local government officials protecting jueteng, while
Borja is the alleged ‘fixer’ for the local police. A local
politician was the alleged bagman of protectors at the national
level,” a former jueteng financier, who also asked not to be
identified, told the Times.
Another local official alleged that the local
media community has not been spared from the jueteng payola list.
“Some media practitioners are in the jueteng
take. Worse, there are some of them who are using the names of
their colleagues or groups they represent for their own personal
advantage. Would you imagine that one of these bad eggs in the
media community was collecting the supposed jueteng payolas of his
colleagues? It turned out that this guy was only using the
names of his colleagues to further his own interest,” one of the
sources said.
Members of the clergy blamed the proliferation
of jueteng on Gov. Maria Gracia Cielo Padaca and Sr. Supt. Napoleon
Estilles, provincial police director.
“Gambling lords would have no place in the
province only if the provincial government and the police would not
give them space to operate jueteng. Despite the admission of
the regional office of the Department of the Interior and Local
Government that Isabela is the worst in the region in terms of
jueteng proliferation, it still continues and becoming more
rampant,” the sources said.
The Kilusang Bayan Laban sa Jueteng chaired by
Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Dagupan-Lingayen has picked Padaca and a
few other antijueteng governors and mayors in the country to receive
the “Parangal sa mga Mararangal.”
But it was not confirmed if Padaca received the
award.
