CL cop chief admits neglecting anti-jueteng campaign ‘a bit’

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — The police director of Central Luzon admitted yesterday that he has "neglected a bit" the campaign against illegal gambling, specifically jueteng, due to other pressing concerns in the region since he took over the position last Dec. 28.

Chief Superintendent Rowland Albano, however, said he has instructed the provincial directors of Pampanga, Bulacan, Tarlac, Bataan, Zambales and Nueva Ecija to give priority to the anti-jueteng drive.

This, amid reports that the illegal numbers game has become rampant again and that people close to Malacañang have allegedly been receiving payola from jueteng operators.

Albano said he has met with all the provincial police directors and stressed to them the "no-take policy."

There have been allegations that jueteng proliferates because police officials and local government executives are on the take.

When he took over as Central Luzon police director, Albano said his concerns were to fight criminality and maintain peace and order at Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac where labor unrest persisted.

Because of these priorities, Albano admitted still having no idea who the jueteng lords are in Central Luzon.

He challenged the media to pinpoint the jueteng operators and financiers in the region. "You must know who they are since you have been here for a long time now," he said.

"It’s now an all-out drive against jueteng that we are enforcing," he said.

Aside from the Hacienda Luisita problem, Albano said the police also concentrated on neutralizing six big-time robbery syndicates, including the notorious "Acetylene gang" which has preyed on banks and pawnshops, mostly in Pampanga.

He also cited "significant accomplishments" of local police units against the illegal drugs trade, particularly in Pampanga and Bataan.

Besides, Albano said the regional police also augmented the security needs for the recent Inter-Parliamentary Union conference held in Manila.

"There have also been anti-insurgency operations that preoccupied us. Since I assumed the post, there have been two armed clashes in Bulacan, one in Angeles City, and two in Nueva Ecija," he said.

Meanwhile, Albano expressed sympathy with presidential son Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo, who has been implicated as one of those allegedly receiving huge jueteng payolas.

"Kawawa naman siya," he said, echoing Arroyo’s call for the source of the allegations to surface and "name names."