Anti-gambling task force men accused of extort

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Camp Crame will not hesitate to punish members of the Anti-Illegal Gambling Special Operations Task Force who were accused of extorting money from suspected gambling financiers here, the spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.

"The PNP hierarchy will investigate the alleged extortion activities of these police operatives who have conducted raids on suspected gambling dens in the city in the past weeks," Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil told Bombo Radyo here.

"If the reports are true, then the policemen involved should be dealt with administratively," he said.

Reports earlier accused some members of the anti-gambling task force from Camp Crame of extorting money from local gambling financiers in exchange for the dropping of criminal charges against them.

Bataoil said the task force has deployed its operatives in different regions to step up the campaign against illegal gambling.

Last week, members of the task force, together with city policemen, swooped down on a suspected gambling den here and arrested 23 people.

The raiding team, led by Chief Inspector Maristelo Manalo, head of AIG-Special Operations Group based at Camp Crame, and Inspector Rogelio Ocampo, deputy chief of the Lagao police station, raided the establishment owned by one Willie Hemady on Ardonia street in Barangay Lagao.

Those arrested included gambling coordinators, ushers and bettors for the illegal numbers games "last two," "pick three," and "last four digits."

Gambling paraphernalia, bets amounting to P5,638, a fax machine and motorcycles were seized during the raid.

The raid came after Manalo’s group was accused of extorting money from a certain Tata Catacutan, an alleged gambling coordinator whom they earlier arrested in Barangay Labangal.

Catacutan claimed that the policemen raided her house last Nov. 17 and demanded P200,000 in exchange for the dropping of charges against her.

Catacutan reportedly settled for P50,000 which she allegedly handed to Manalo at the Anchor Hotel here.

Manalo, however, denied Catacutan’s allegations, saying they had used her as an informant to pin down Hemady, who was not around when his establishment was raided.

"The anti-gambling drive was conducted in the wake of reports that ‘last two’ and other illegal numbers games are prevalent in the city and other parts of Mindanao," Manalo said.

Senior Superintendent Alfredo Toroctocon, city police chief, earlier had intensified the campaign against illegal gambling and filed charges against several big-time gambling financiers.

Lawyer Franklin Gacal Jr., Hemady’s legal counsel, said the raid on his client’s establishment could be considered illegal since it was not covered by a search warrant.