DILG renews drive vs illegal gambling

Apply the law or the law will be applied to you.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes wants local executives and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to enforce a new law to stamp out illegal gambling within their areas of jurisdiction.

Reyes said Republic Act (RA) 9287, or An Act Increasing the Penalties for Illegal Numbers Games, not only imposes stiffer penalties but also gets tough on government employees and officials with proven links to illegal gambling, particularly numbers games like jueteng.

Reyes, whose confirmation by the Commission on Appointments (CA) received a boost yesterday from the leadership of the Liga ng Mga Barangay, also urged local executives and the PNP to increase community involvement in the campaign against the illegal games of chance.

The penalties imposed by RA 9287 are much higher than those imposed by Presidential Decree (PD) 1602, which penalizes violators with jail terms of between four and 12 years (prison correccional and prison mayor) and fines of between P400 and P6000.

RA 9287 provides jail terms of 12 to 20 years and fines ranging from P3 to P5 million for any public official or government employee involved in illegal gambling. The violator is also barred from holding any future position in government.

Maintainers, managers and operators of the illegal numbers games face 12 to 14 years imprisonment, while their financiers face longer terms of 14 to 16 years. Protectors or coddlers of the gambling operations face the maximum penalty, imprisonment of between 16 and 20 years.

Employees of the gambling operation, including its coordinators and agents, face lighter jail terms of between six and 12 years.

But even mere participants don’t come away scot-free under the new law. Bettors face jail terms of 30 to 90 days, while the parents or guardians of minors or incapacitated persons that gamble can be jailed from six months to one year.

In a statement issued yesterday, the secretariat of the Liga ng Mga Barangay called on the CA to confirm the appointment of Reyes as head of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). The league is the umbrella organization of barangay councils nationwide.

In a recent meeting at its headquarters in Pasig City, the league noted that Reyes had "proved himself worthy and more than apt in performing the powers and functions of his office" since his appointment last July by President Arroyo.

Jonah Pedro G. Pimentel, secretary-general of the league said the Liga board agreed to "vigorously" petition the CA "to confirm Mr. Reyes’s appointment as DILG secretary."