Garbo: No vigilantes vs. masiao operators

CEBU, Philippines - Police Regional Office-7 director Marcelo Garbo, Jr. denied the insinuation from a self-confessed financier of illegal numbers game about the presence of a “vigilante” group allegedly going after masiao operators.

Garbo said there was no proof that vigilantes were behind the recent ambush of suspected masiao financier Edgar Lim and the alleged strafing incident at the house of Randy Bulibuli, who confessed of his alleged involvement in masiao.

“If there will be vigilantes and presence of vigilantes would mean mahina ang police. Bakit? Mahina ba ang police?” Garbo asked.

Bulibuli, who claimed to be a former masiao financier, earlier said a group of armed men is out to go after masiao financiers. According to him, the group posted a warning at his gate in Barangay Pasil sometime in January urging him to stop his illegal activities.

Bulibuli claimed that the unidentified armed men fired shots at his gate on January 30 when he ignored the warning. He believed that the same group was responsible in lobbing a grenade at the compound of Lim.

Bulibuli however said that the incidents in his house and that of Lim were not reported to the police. He instead arranged a meeting with Garbo to assure the official that he will already stop his illegal operation.

But Garbo said it is hard to claim that what happened to Bulibuli and Lim are works of the vigilantes because the two are into illegal activities.

“Paano mo naman masasabi na merong vigilante baka merong mga kaaway naman,” Garbo said.

Meanwhile, Garbo accused Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama of using him in the latter’s publicity stunt.

Garbo made the accusation in reaction to Rama’s challenge to neutralize the illegal numbers game in the region.

“Sinasabi lang ni Mayor Rama ‘yun kasi he never talked to me and we never talked to each other…puro akusasyon na lang siya…I don’t want to talk to him because he uses me for attention.” Garbo said.

Garbo said Rama should instead hit political opponents and not the PNP.

“If you want to hit your opponent, you hit your opponent and not me,” Garbo said.

Rama earlier said that he could not be blamed for the proliferation of masiao in the city because Camp Crame did not approve of his choice for Cebu City Police Office director.

Rama would have wanted Senior Superintendent Noli Romana to sit as city police director.

Republic Act 8551 provides that local chief executives should be active in the campaign against illegal gambling by supervising the operations of the police in their areas.

The law states that “the control and supervision of anti-gambling operations shall be within the jurisdiction of local government executives.”

Cebu City has Ordinance 1616 that regulates the “manufacturing, selling, distribution and even possession of masiao tipsheets,” but this has not been strictly implemented. (FREEMAN)