NBI eyes jueteng turf war in Quezon slays

MANILA, Philippines - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is looking into the possibility that a battle over jueteng turf was the motive for the killing of 13 men in Atimonan, Quezon last Jan. 6.

Reports published earlier and attributed to security sources said rival camps battling for control of jueteng operations in Southern Luzon triggered the mass killing, whose main target was alleged jueteng kingpin Vic Siman.

The commander of the operation, police Superintendent Hansel Marantan, has said that none of his relatives is involved in jueteng.

Security sources, on the other hand, said a woman named Tita, who allegedly raised Marantan like a son, was Siman’s rival in the illegal numbers game.

“That jueteng angle is being pursued by the NBI for the purpose of establishing the motive,” Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told The STAR yesterday.

An NBI source told The STAR they received a report about a plot to “liquidate” Siman for allegedly encroaching on the jueteng turf of another group linked to Marantan.

The NBI source said there were two previous attempts to kill Siman but he evaded the assailants.

His group was tagged by Marantan’s team as a band of hired guns operating in Southern Tagalog and Bicol.

Siman’s relatives have denied his links to hired guns.

NBI probers were also told that Tirso Lontok Jr., the environmentalist who was among the 13 killed in Quezon, was also linked to jueteng operations in Laguna and Quezon.

Lontok’s family denied this.

Six of Siman’s bookies or bet collectors for illegal gambling were gunned down in Calamba City in October last year, in an operation that also reportedly involved Marantan. Police described the six at the time as hired guns.

Recently, Siman’s former gambling administrator was dragged out of his house at 1:30 a.m. by a police team in Batangas and shot dead, allegedly after he resisted arrest. The case is under investigation.

Jueteng war in Lipa

 Feuds over jueteng are also suspected in the murder of a small town lottery (STL) worker and wounding of another in Lipa City, Batangas last year.

Emmanuel Mendoza, 49, and Lewillyndo Vergara, 44, both residents of San Juan, Batangas, were shot by two men on a motorcycle at around 9 p.m. on Sept. 25 last year along H. La Torre street in Barangay 10.

Mendoza died at the scene while Vergara was rushed to the San Antonio Medical Center for treatment.

Both were employees of BETS, the STL franchise in Batangas, and were walking home from the betting station when they were fired upon by the still unidentified gunmen.

A franchise manager of STL in the city said he had also been receiving death threats via text messages.

He said he reported the threats to the Lipa police but there was no action.

The manager, who asked not to be named, said he sensed he was under surveillance.

He said at least six groups were operating as bookies in Lipa.

Authorities have said legal STL operations were used as fronts for the more popular but illegal jueteng.