Jueteng resurfaces in Ilocos — sources

SAN FERNANDO, La Union — Jueteng resumed in most parts of the Ilocos region last Monday, particularly in Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan and Ilocos Norte, sources said.

The illegal numbers game, meanwhile, will have its "dry run" in La Union tomorrow, they added.

According to STAR sources, close associates of an influential politician from the North are financing the renewed jueteng operations, allegedly with the blessings of police and local officials.

One of the STAR sources said a known gambling lord is supposedly financing the jueteng operations in some parts of Pangasinan, while a close relative of an Ilocos politician allied with President Arroyo controls the illegal numbers game in most towns in the Ilocos region (Region 1).

A local official, who refused to be named, confirmed that jueteng is again rampant because its maintainers allegedly enjoy protection from some police officials and politicians.

"I think it’s the STL (small town lottery), but based on my information, it’s jueteng," the official said.

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has authorized agents to operate STL in six areas so far — Bulacan, Quezon, Bataan, Angeles City, Mindoro Occidental, and Laguna.

Other sources said jueteng bets are being collected brazenly inside government offices, public places, and even in areas near police stations.

Reports of the resumption of jueteng circulated here yesterday and were aired by local radio stations.

Police authorities were mum about the reports. Some of them said they still have to verify if it was really jueteng, STL or loteng.

Dagupan-Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz, former head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, has criticized the government and the police for their failure to stop jueteng across the country.