And jueteng started to become alive and kicking again when Archbishop Oscar Cruz, a staunch anti-jueteng crusader here, was in Rome, thus proving, observers said, the saying that "when the cat is away, the mouse will play."
The 10-page survey results, which Cruz released yesterday, revealed that practically all towns in central Pangasinan, which the archdiocese covers, have jueteng operations.
"I expect negative reactions again from those who are adversely affected. But I will tell them (if they come to my office) that they should come with their barangay captains because what we have this time is a more detailed and more concrete survey. It’s more tenable," said Cruz, former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
He was referring to the cities of Dagupan and San Carlos and the towns of Basista, Bautista, Bayambang, Binmaley, Calasiao, Lingayen, Manaoag, Malasiqui, Mangaldan, San Jacinto, Sta. Barbara and Urbiztondo.
Cruz said no survey results were indicated in the towns of Laoac, San Fabian and Mapandan because surveyors in these areas failed to specify which barangays have jueteng operations, as all three previous surveys did.
Four teams conducted the survey last month in each of the cities and municipalities under the archdiocese, and a public or police official in the area concerned validated their findings, Cruz added.
Cruz told The STAR that he would furnish copies of the survey results to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina, Chief Superintendent Arturo Lomibao, regional police director; Senior Superintendent Arturo Cacdac Jr., provincial police chief; Gov. Victor Agbayani and Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin Lim, who has assigned the archbishop to head the city’s jueteng monitoring committee.
Despite vicious attacks hurled against him — from being a casino player to owning a mansion in Pampanga and having sired children — Cruz vowed that he would never abandon his anti-jueteng crusade.
"I will not give up. I understand if they malign me. I’m not angry at them," he said. "I know it’s a long and hard battle because it’s the most corrupt and the most corrupting racket from the bottom upward."
Cruz said he is not after the success of eradicating jueteng but "it cannot be said that I did not try (fighting it)."
He added that what they did was "just a validation of what everybody else knows."
Reacting to the survey results, Cacdac said, "We will intensify our operations against illegal gambling. I am meeting all chiefs of police today to discuss the matter. We will act on the problem. We are not promising anything but we will do our best."
For his part, Superintendent Noli Taliño, Dagupan City police chief, said, "Wala naman tayong Dagupan operation kaya lang may pumapasok at dinadala sa labas (We don’t have jueteng operations in Dagupan but bet collectors enter the city and bring the bets out for the draw)."
With jueteng operations rated from rampant to moderate, Malasiqui topped the list, followed by Sta. Barbara, Dagupan City, San Carlos City and Binmaley.
At the bottom of the list with moderate to negligible jueteng operations are Bayambang, Bautista, Basista, San Jacinto and Manaoag.