House panel summons PNP chief

The House games and amusement committee invited Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Arturo Lomibao to appear next week so he can shed light on reports of widespread jueteng operations and other illegal gambling activities in the country.

Davao Oriental Rep. Joel Mayo Almario, committee chairman, said yesterday the PNP chief will be asked about the allegations of an unnamed police official that a top government official and his relatives are coddling gambling lords who, in turn, are paying them off with hundreds of millions in jueteng money.

"General Lomibao has to unmask this officer and investigate his accusations. The unnamed officer should have the courage to go out into the open and prove his claims. If he is unable to do that, he could be part of efforts to destabilize this government," Almario said.

He said it is unfair that this officer remains anonymous since his revelations put every top government official and his or her relatives under suspicion.

Supporting Almario’s call, Davao del Sur Rep. Douglas Cagas said Lomibao, once he unmasks the unnamed police official, should compel him to reveal his identity.

"He should name names if he is really sincere in helping curtail this problem," he said.

He also said an investigation into illegal gambling should extend to local government officials since such activities cannot thrive unless local executives tolerate it.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, meanwhile, said he would also move for the holding of a Senate inquiry into fresh reports that three close relatives of a high-ranking government official were raking in millions of pesos monthly from jueteng operations.

"I am calling for a Senate investigation to unmask the persons behind the code names M1, M2, and JS7. These allegations of massive corruption involving relatives of a government official as a result of jueteng... should not be taken lightly," Drilon said.

"We should not forget that the very same charges caused the downfall of a former president. We must not underestimate the Filipino people’s continued distaste for public corruption spawned by jueteng operations," he said.

The Senate president was reacting to newspaper reports that at least three relatives of a government official had become the new beneficiaries of jueteng funds and were doling out plum PNP posts to top police officials in provinces with huge jueteng payoffs.

Drilon said he had instructed his staff to draft a resolution calling for an immediate Senate investigation into the matter. He also noted that Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. has called for an inquiry into the alleged failure of the PNP and local officials to implement Republic Act 9287 or the anti-jueteng law that was enacted by Congress last year.

For his part, presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo supported the decision to conduct an inquiry into jueteng.

He said he felt it is the Arroyo family that is unfairly being alluded to in newspaper reports about illegal gambling. He denied the Arroyos are coddling jueteng lords or are beneficiaries of illegal gambling money. — Jess Diaz