Florante Solmerin, PCSO deputy spokesman, said on Wednesday that PCSO chairman Jose Jorge Corpuz and general manager, former Marine General Alexander Balutan, are urging the law enforcement agencies to arrest gambling lords who are operating jueteng in the guise of the Small Town Lottery (STL), including STL collectors who moonlight as illegal bookies thinking they will not be arrested and can freely operate the illegal numbers game.
Solmerin said a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the PCSO and the PNP signed by Corpuz and Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on November 22, 2016 was reiterated by Balutan recently in the light of the renewed campaign against jueteng.
“There are bookies and they have to give out bribes which is another problem in the STL operations,” he said.
Solmerin said many police officers and men who caught illegal gambling personnel in the act have found themselves facing harassment charges from the suspects who turned out to be connected with STL operators and contended that they were illegally arrested.
LGU resistance
“There is resistance from the local government units (LGUs) because everything is now legal and nothing goes to the pocket of the mayors anymore,” he added.
“They also insist on Authorize Agent Corporations (AACs) to get a mayor’s permit but the PCSO authorization is already enough to start their operations,” he pointed out. “No need for a mayor’s permit because the PCSO is national in character and is also under the Office of the President and has its own charter, RA 1169 as amended,” he explained.
However, the PCSO enjoins the AACs to pay a courtesy call to the chief executives in the areas where they operate, he added.
Solmerin said the PNP is tasked as the main law enforcement agency to go after jueteng under the MOA.
He said the PNP should step-up their campaign against all forms of illegal gambling including jueteng.
“Also stipulated in the MOA is for the PNP to support and protect STL operations in the country,” he stressed. “But there should be no let-up in the operations against illegal gambling,” he added.
PCSO files case vs Globaltech
During a media forum here last week, Solmerin said the PCSO has already filed a case against the “Peryahan ng Bayan” managed and operated by Global Tech Mobile Online Corp. (Globaltech) after failing to remit a single centavo to the PCSO which was found to be a front for jueteng.
He said Peryahan ng Bayan was conceptualized in 2014 and was allowed to conduct test runs but failed to meet its commitment.
Solmerin said the PCSO is demanding P50 million from Globaltech which refuses to be supervised during its operations.
He said the PCSO was monitoring its operations nationwide but Globaltech has not remitted anything to the PCSO.
What is worse, he said, Peryahan ng Bayan was found to be used as a front for jueteng because it uses two number combinations just like the illegal numbers’ game but only in digital form.
Solmerin said Peryahan ng Bayan has for its front diff erent rides like ferris wheel and roller coasters among others to attract customers.
