CEBU, Philippines — At least 341 individuals have been arrested in the intensified campaign against illegal gambling in Cebu province in the month of September alone, police data showed.
According to the records of Cebu Provincial Police Office, around 180 operations against all types of illegal gambling have been carried out across Cebu since September 1 alone.
These resulted in the apprehension of some 341 people and confiscation of nearly P50,000 in gambling bets.
Lt. Col. Mark Gifter Sucalit, deputy director for operations of CPPO, said that out of 180 operations done, 63 of them were related to swertres; 33 to hantak; 32, card games; 13, mahjong; 21, cockfighting; and 17, other types of gambling.
"Sad to say, when it comes to betting, there is already involvement of money so illegal na siya and it is also part of yung programa ng officer-in-charge sa Cebu Provincial Police Office to really intensify our efforts against illegal gambling so that’s the reason nga subsob atong kampaniya sa illegal gambling operations," said Sucalit.
Sucalit explained that there are people who steal to gamble, instead of looking for lawful means to earn a living, considering the easy chance of getting huge returns in gambling.
Police, meanwhile, made it clear that there is a Small Time Lottery that operates legally in Cebu province, just like in other areas in Region 7.
They did not discount the possibility, though, that there are other types of illegal gambling online, but they have not received any such information.
Nevertheless, their intelligence monitoring continues.
Sucalit also reminded the uniformed personnel not to gamble, especially online, lest they want to expose themselves to the risk of being charged criminally and administratively.
Other forms of gambling
Meanwhile, the Cebu City Police Office is monitoring other types of online gambling such as tong-its and baccarat as it looks to seek legal advice on how to proceed with prosecuting the violators.
But CCPO Deputy City Director for Administration Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla said it's a big challenge for them to catch those who are behind these types of gambling because they are done electronically.
Parilla said that when e-sabong operations were ordered stopped, many other forma of online gambling emerged so they forwarded such reports to their intelligence unit to find out the veracity of such reports.
“Tong-its, the same murag naay banker, unya naa kay mga kaduwa nga murag online ra mo, magpustahanay mo. I don’t know unsaon na niya pagkakuan kay naa koy nahibaw-an nga online magduwa sila og tong-it wala nay physical nga duwa”, said Parilla.
Parilla explained that if an individual becomes addicted to gambling, everyone else in his family could also be affected.
“Dili lang kay sa atong kapulisan, sa tawo gyud nga dili gyud magpadala aning gambling sa online kay wala gyud tay dag-anan kay wala gyud ta kakita kinsay atong kontra unya wala ta kahibawo giunsa pagduwa so permanente gyud tang pildi. Ang ato lang gyud ma satisfy ang atoang hiliga sa pagsugal wala gihapo’y padulngan so atong giawhag nga dili sila mo-patronize aning klase nga sugal”, said Parilla. — Niña Tundag, JMD (FREEMAN)