Jueteng in P'sinan confirmed

DAGUPAN CITY — Jueteng exists in this city and in eight Pangasinan municipalities — rampant in two and "moderate" in the rest — results of a survey by the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese show.

According to the survey, the fifth conducted by the archdiocese, the illegal numbers game is rampant in the towns of Malasiqui, particularly in Barangay Canan, and Mangaldan, where Chief Superintendent Arturo Lomibao, the Ilocos police director, hails from.

The survey, conducted from July 1 to 16, said jueteng was "moderate" in this city, particularly in Barangay Bonuan Boquig, some barangays in Binmaley, Bautista, Calasiao, San Fabian, San Jacinto and Lingayen.

Jueteng, meanwhile, was described as "negligible" in some parts of Dagupan, and non-existent in Basista, Bayambang, some barangays in Calasiao, Laoac, Manaoag, Mapandan, Urbiztondo and San Carlos City.

Compared to previous surveys, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said jueteng subsided "by and large" during the survey period.

"It turned out differently," Cruz said, referring to expectations that illegal gambling would be more rampant in the run-up to the July 15 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

This is the first time that the number of towns where jueteng is going on has gone down, and Cruz attributed this to the warning of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina to police and local officials.

With nine towns in central Pangasinan, which his diocese covers, found to have no jueteng operations, Cruz said, "It’s not bad. Let’s see how long it will last."

The other day, second district Rep. Amado Espino Jr. claimed that jueteng persists in Lingayen, particularly in Barangay Maniboc where the capital town’s mayor, Josefina Castañeda, hails from.

Castañeda’s husband, former mayor Ernesto Castañeda, however, belied the allegations.