Sunday, September 24, 2006

The chiefs of police of four towns in Tarlac, Bulacan, and Isabela have been
relieved because the illegal numbers game jueteng continues in their areas,
officials said.
In Central Luzon, Chief Superintendent Ismael Rafanan, regional police
director, on Friday ordered the relief of Superintendent Aniceto Frane,
police chief of Camiling, Tarlac, and Superintendent Jesus Reyes, police
chief of Calumpit, Bulacan. They are undergoing pre-charge investigation in
this regional police camp.
In Isabela, Senior Superintendent Jude Wilson Santos, acting provincial
police director, relieved Superintendent Felix Dayag, chief of the Echague
police, and Senior Inspector Renato Bucad, chief of the Jones police, after
a team from the Philippine National Police's anti-illegal gambling task
force and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group raided suspected
jueteng dens in the province last week. Anti-illegal gambling operations by
the regional police in those towns confirmed the existence of jueteng,
Rafanan said. "The one-strike policy continues to be in full force to any
officer who defies the order to have the game stopped by September 30," he
said in explaining the immediate sacking of Frane and Reyes.

Chief Inspector Romeo de Guzman, CIDG Isabela chief, said his office
arrested 46 jueteng employees and bet collectors in Jones, Echague, Benito
Soliven, and San Agustin towns and in Santiago City.

Chief Superintendent Jefferson Soriano, Cagayan Valley police director, said
he had ordered provincial police directors in the region to beat the
September 30 deadline set by PNP chief Director General Oscar Calderon to
stop jueteng operations in the country.

The relieved police officials were the first to come under fire in what
Calderon called an "honest-to-goodness" fight against the underworld
lottery. Calderon said the new drive against jueteng was meant to strengthen
the small town lottery, which the government introduced in February as an
antidote and alternative to jueteng.