Pangasinan mayor sees need to legalize ‘jueteng’

BINALONAN, Pangasinan — Legalize it.

Such a move, according to this town’s mayor, Ramon Guico Jr., will stop the uproar against jueteng, a popular illegal numbers game.

Guico clarified though that the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), which he heads, is united with the intensified campaign of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina to stamp out this form of illegal gambling.

But Guico believes that since jueteng has been an on-and-off operation, there is a need to legalize it now.

A former Pangasinan congressman, Amadeo Perez, incidentally, had filed a bill legalizing jueteng during the Ramos administration. While the measure passed the House committee on games and amusement, which he headed, it did not reach the plenary session.

Former President Joseph Estrada introduced a legalized form of jueteng, called "Bingo 2-Ball," operated by bosom buddy Charlie "Atong" Ang.

But the animosity between Ang and former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson over the local Bingo 2-Ball franchise triggered events that led to Estrada’s impeachment and downfall. Singson accused Estrada of pocketing millions of pesos in jueteng payola.

Money for projects

According to Guico, legalizing the numbers game means its proceeds will go to local governments which, in turn, can use the money for projects their respective councils will approve.

The LMP, he said, has not formalized such a call for jueteng legalization, explaining that jueteng is not popular in other areas such as in the Visayas and Mindanao where masiao, another illegal numbers game, thrives.

Guico said there will be no jueteng if mayors and local police officials want it. "Kung talagang gusto nilang patigilin yan, titigil yan. Kung ayaw ng mayor, wala namang magagawa ang pulis (If they want to stop it, it will. If the mayor does not want it, the police cannot do anything)," he added.

The LMP president said he sympathizes with some mayors who depend on jueteng money to cope with the so-called "KBL" or kasal-binyag-libing, referring to solicitations for weddings, baptisms and burials.

"Di naman lahat ng mayors pare-parehas ang pamumuhay. Iyong iba talagang nangangailangan dahil alam mo napakahirap naman ang buhay ng isang mayor (Not all mayors have the same status in life. Some of them really need such help because it’s really difficult to be a mayor)," he said.

Guico added: "Sometimes I cannot blame the mayors without other means of livelihood because they are in a difficult situation."

Church survey hailed

The mayor, however, lauded the survey done by the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese, its fifth so far, which confirmed jueteng operations in a number of Pangasinan towns.

Results of the survey, done from July 1 to 16, showed that the jueteng was "rampant" in Malasiqui and Mangaldan towns, and "moderate" in Bautista, Binmaley, Calasiao, Lingayen, San Fabian and San Jacinto, and in Dagupan City’s Barangay Bonuan Boquig.

Jueteng, the survey added, was "negligible" in Sta. Barbara and some parts of Dagupan, and non-existent in Basista, Bayambang, some Dagupan barangays, Calasiao, Laoac, Manaoag, Mapandan, Urbiztondo and San Carlos City.

Mayors Alfonso Soriano and Tito Sarzaba of Malasiqui and Mangaldan, respectively, have belied the findings. Both sought certifications from their local church leaders that there was no jueteng in their towns during the survey period.

Archbishop Oscar Cruz stood firm on the survey results, saying, "it was the people who said so."

He nevertheless lauded Soriano and Sarzaba and their police chiefs for stopping jueteng. But he added: "Let us see how long the stoppage will last."

There are reports, meanwhile, that jueteng is being revived in central Pangasinan.

The provincial board, presided over by Vice Gov. Oscar Lambino, has yet to receive a copy of the archdiocesan survey. But Lambino said they will investigate the mayors of towns where jueteng existed, as the survey indicated.

"If it will be found that jueteng really existed in their towns, then we will act accordingly," he said.