Nene: Bello sought lifting of ex-mayor’s travel ban

Chief government peace negotiator Silvestre Bello III sought the lifting of the travel ban against a former Bulacan mayor suspected of being involved in jueteng operations, Senate President Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr. said yesterday.

Pimentel said Bello personally went to his office Monday and asked how the hold departure order against former Hagonoy, Bulacan mayor Jesus Viceo could be canceled.

Former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson named Viceo as among alleged operators of the illegal numbers game in the country during the Senate impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada last year.

Singson claimed that Mr. Estrada received millions of pesos in payoffs from jueteng operators.

The Senate Blue Ribbon committee, which Pimentel used to chair, requested for the hold departure order from the Department of Justice to prevent Viceo and other alleged jueteng operators from leaving the country.

Pimentel said he advised Bello to file a motion for reconsideration and a manifestation that Viceo would make himself available for hearings so the travel ban against him could be lifted.

The senator could not say whether Bello was acting as Viceo’s lawyer because he said they did not talk for long.

Bello chairs the government panel negotiating peace with the National Democratic Front (NDF). The STAR tried to get his comment, but failed.

Viceo reportedly ran for re-election in Hagonoy town during the recent elections, but lost.

Senate records show that Viceo’s name, along with other alleged gambling lords, would always crop up whenever the Blue Ribbon committee would investigate jueteng operations in the country.

The committee needed the presence of the suspected jueteng operators to determine the extent of the illegal numbers game in the country so that appropriate legislation could be passed to stamp it out.

Pimentel has reiterated his opposition to the legalization of jueteng, saying that effective law enforcement could deter illegal gambling.

This was contrary to the position of Sen. Luisa "Loi" Ejercito that jueteng should be legalized to help the poor have a means of living.