Miriam brings up jueteng issue in Senate probe

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago brought up the issue of jueteng during yesterday’s Senate hearing/evaluation on resigned interior undersecretary Rico Puno.

She asked Puno if he has accepted protection money from jueteng operators, and Puno denied it.

Santiago said no case has been filed against Puno or other officials of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) because hearsay evidence cannot be admitted in court.

“It becomes a moral question,” she said.

PNP chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome said the state-run small town lottery (STL) is being used as a front for jueteng operators and that he has information about the payola given to officials.

However, he asked for an executive session so he could disclose the information to the senators privately. She intends to hold an executive session with the PNP soon, Santiago said.

Among the resource persons invited to yesterday’s hearing was retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who has long been engaged in a campaign against illegal gambling.

Cruz said jueteng is still thriving, but he could not provide any evidence. It’s hard to gather any hard evidence because of the way jueteng operates, he added.

Transactions are in cash and no receipts or checks are ever issued, he said.

Cruz said the problem is not the lack of laws against illegal gambling, but the enforcement of these laws.

“The problem is with the executive branch and not with you (Congress),” he said. “Jueteng is a big corrupting exercise. Jueteng does not fool around. Jueteng kills.” 

Yesterday’s hearing will cause jueteng operations to temporarily simmer down, but it would regain its momentum once the public’s attention subsides, Cruz said.

Two years ago, Santiago made a privilege speech about the problem of jueteng and how it was proliferating because of the DILG’s and PNP’s lack of action.

At that time, Santiago estimated the gross annual receipts from jueteng at around P30 billion, one percent of which goes to the DILG and the PNP as protection money.

Santiago said that jueteng will not thrive if its creators and protectors are not around.

Puno’s name was mentioned in that 2010 privilege speech of Santiago. He recalled his appearance at the Senate two years ago to answer the allegations of his involvement in jueteng.

“My accusers wanted everyone to believe that even if I was only two months in office, I was able to rise to be a great power that they featured me to be in such a short time,” he said.

Palace denial

Malacañang denied yesterday Santiago’s allegations that the administration has allowed jueteng to flourish.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said it’s not accurate to say that the administration was not doing anything about jueteng.

“But certainly, there is an integrated campaign against jueteng,” he said. 

“Insofar as the statement of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago that we’re not doing anything – that is not entirely true.” 

Lacierda said the government had planned to do away with the STL, which experts believe is the same as jueteng, but that a replacement was yet to be implemented when Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo died in a plane crash.

“It (STL) has proven not to be effective. We have to replace STL. It was implemented with the purpose of combating jueteng. Apparently, it is not doing its job of combating jueteng. That’s why we need to find a replacement or alternative to STL.” 

Lacierda said the policy of President Aquino, which Robredo was supposed to have implemented, was an integrated approach to combating jueteng. 

“Part of that is also the approach on the STL by changing the Loterya ng Bayan,” he said.

Lacierda said the government has taken a position that would best ensure an effective campaign against jueteng. 

“We’re looking at it right now,” he said. 

“I will not be able to provide the details yet but it’s in the works. We will wait until it’s been finalized. We will announce it. We’re looking, and the PCSO is studying it, the DILG, prior to the passing of Jesse.”

Lacierda said the government is looking into providing gainful employment to people earning a living from jueteng to stop the illegal numbers game.

“We want to formalize everything,” he said. 

“We want to make sure it’s integrated. We want to make sure that we provide gainful employment.” We want to make sure as well that the benefits will redound to the public good. – Marvin Sy, Delon Porcalla