18 nabbed for illegal small town lottery activities in Cebu City

CEBU, Philippines — At least 18 individuals were arrested by the Cebu City Police Office for their alleged involvement in illegal small town lottery (STL) activities.

Their arrest came after Mayor Edgardo Labella ordered the CCPO to submit a weekly report on its monitoring of the illegal number games.

CCPO Director Colonel Josefino Ligan said that after receiving the mayor’s order, he called for an emergency meeting with station commanders in the city, instructing them to conduct anti-illegal gambling operations, particularly on number games.

Since April 8, 18 individuals have been arrested for betting and ushering potential bettors into the illegal number game.

Station commanders were also tasked to coordinate with barangay officials to pursue their campaign against all forms of illegal gambling.

“And of course with the coordination sa atong PCSO (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office) kay ang PCSO mao man gyud na sila ang implementing body when it comes to number games in the city,” said Ligan.

Aside from STL outlets, Ligan said they are also monitoring other forms of illegal gambling such as household games like mahjong, tong-its, and illegal cockfighting.

“Kining mahjong, within the premises of your houses nga pampatagal stress lang, okay ra na, pero og kung gihimo nang sugalanan na gyud, duha na ka lamesa, dagko na ang pusta, nag tong-its pa, mag-card games pa, so definitely kana, gukdon nato,” said Ligan.

Ligan further said they are set to submit weekly and monthly reports on the illegal gambling monitoring, particularly on STL, to the city government, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Police Regional Office.

To recall, Labella asked the CCPO to submit a weekly report on his order in the campaign to eradicate illegal small town lottery outlets and all forms of illegal gambling in the city.

“I gave instructions to the CCPO chief that we should be relentless and pursue this illegal gambling. We should never tolerate and allow illegal gambling to take place in Cebu City,” said Labella. — JMD (FREEMAN)