Jueteng and cooperatives

I have not become enamored by any gambling game, and my friends tell me I am the better for it. A couple of times, against the advice of my Bible study group, I bought a sweepstakes ticket, and at another time, aspired for a lotto jackpot prize, but my luck was always limited to a few pesos. In Las Vegas, a niece gave me some chips, and I won like $40 at the slot machine, but quickly lost it by trying to stretch my luck further. So the casino is not for me. Mahjong never attracted me, and I have no words of praise for friends who keep their attention and fingers working on the ivory blocks, and not us visitors. Cockfighting is a cruel game, and masiao is absolutely Greek to me.

But gambling, er, gaming, as I have been corrected, is obviously here to stay. Jueteng, a numbers game, I am told is hard to abolish, even if it is illegal. It has a dirty connotation, it being illegal and operating clandestinely, and surviving by payolas given by jueteng lords to big shots in government, local executives, and police operatives. Jueteng operators don’t pay revenues to the government. Big drug lords are supposed to be on the authorities’ list, but none have been punished.

At the Bulong Pulungan media forum at Sofitel Tuesday, Margie Juico, chair, and Roy Roxas, general manager, of Philippines Charity Sweepstakes Office, spoke about Small Town Lottery (STL), a legal numbers game, and its earnings of more than P10-billion during the last three and a half years, said Roy, show that STL is a success as a revenue source for the agency. Margie and Roy pointed to PCSO’s medical and social programs for indigent members of society.

STL stations, as the name suggests, are found in small towns, none are found in Metro Manila. More income to help the poor can be had by attracting bettors away from illegal numbers games.

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One of the oft-given excuses for the failure of authorities to stop jueteng is that the thousands of small folks who depend on it for their livelihood — the cabos and kubradors or bet collectors — will lose their means of income.

This column sees this excuse as nothing but a cop-out for the LGU and police officials who are unable (or unwilling?) to eliminate jueteng in their respective jurisdictions. If they have a will to, these officials can address without much difficulty the supposed economic dislocation that will result from the cessation of jueteng operations.

One way to do this is to set up cooperatives that can help cushion the difficulty of those who may be displaced by the total stoppage of jueteng. These people can contribute small amounts as their share in the capital of the organization.

Under the new Cooperative Code of 2008 (R. A. 9520), the minimum capital requirement is only P15,000 which is really quite affordable. The law provides that the par value of shares of a coop should not exceed P1,000 and that an initial group of 15 persons can set up a cooperative. For additional capital, coops can also tap government financing institutions or private foundations that can help strengthen the organization’s financial muscle, either by giving a loan or an outright grant.          

There are some 20 various types of cooperatives under the new coop law. These are credit, consumers, producers, marketing, financial services, health, water service, electric, education, transport, workers, multi-purpose, fishermen, agrarian reform, dairy, banking, insurance, housing, advocacy and service cooperatives. Many of these can almost immediately help ease the difficulties of financially hard pressed people who decide to become members.

Organizing cooperatives entail a little hard work. This will also need political will and determination on the part of both the LGU officials as well as the members and officers of the cooperative.

If they have a mind to, they can get in touch with the Philippine Cooperative Center (PCC) for assistance. The PCC has its own building located at #90 Balete Drive Ext., Quezon City, with email address at www.philcoopcenter.org. It may also be reached through tel. nos. (02) 7237392; (02) 4112686; and (02) 7824408 or cell phone no. 0939-4742770.

Actually, the PCC is holding its 10th Cooperative Summit from October 10 to 12, as lead convenor, with the Cooperative Development Authority as co-convenor. The event will be held at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City with the Quezon City Development Council Coop Sector as host.

Theme of the summit is “One Coop movement, one vision, one nation.” Its all-encompassing aim is to transform into concrete practice the 6th cooperative principle of “Cooperation Among Cooperatives.”

According to former senator Butz Aquino, the summit’s chairperson and convenor, one of the event’s objectives is to increase and maximize membership. It also aims to generate appreciable impact in society as a whole and among coop members in particular, especially on the matter of poverty alleviation. It also seeks to develop a framework for a business partnership for industry-focused coops and provide coop members a stronger voice in the market or industry where they belong.

On the basis of his proven commitment to the movement, there is strong reason to believe that if requested, Butz Aquino himself will be willing to lend his personal time and attention to those who would like to set up a coop. After all, this is a lifetime advocacy for him. It was he, together with former senator Nene Pimentel, who authored the original cooperative law (R. A. 6938) for which Butz is now known as the father of modern cooperatives in the country.

Apart from being PCC chairman, Butz also serves as chairman emeritus of the National Cooperatives Movement, an umbrella organization of local cooperatives.

It may be argued that those who could be displaced by the strict enforcement of a no-jueteng policy will need immediate assistance, something that a cooperative may not be able to provide within a week, or even a month.

But there are other creative solutions that local officials can resort to. Some city and municipal governments, for instance, employ many of their constituents for periods of three to six months, after which they are replaced by another group. There is also the former administration’s conditional cash transfer program for poor families that President Noynoy Aquino decided to continue.

Such measures should help provide financial help for those who may lose their jueteng jobs. After these, cooperatives — such as credit, consumer, financial service, marketing, health, education, water service, fishermen, agrarian reform and transport cooperatives — can then fill the gap over the short term, and thereafter. Given the political will, cooperatives can provide a truly viable alternative to jueteng.

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My e-mail:[email protected]