That’s exactly what an aficionado named "Ngongo" has done in this town, where the collection of winning bets from cabos is done following the draw of lucky combinations in itinerant vehicles.
And it doesn’t help any that government will soon privatize all state-sponsored gambling, because bookies here refer to the bets they collect as "kontribusiyon para kay Erap" (contributions for President Estrada), and any windfall as "balato ni Atong," referring to presidential buddy Charlie "Atong" Ang.
Meanwhile, the municipal trial court in this town has ordered the arrest of two suspected gambling lords - one of them a Bingo 2-Ball franchise holder and alleged financier of Ngongo.
MTC Judge Valentino Nuyog issued last Friday arrest warrants against Regalado "Otto" Balboa and Rogelio Morales, who was reportedly among those who paid Ang P10 million for a 2-Ball franchise.
Bingo 2-Ball, a legalized version of jueteng under the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) was put on hold by the President last week in the wake of the jueteng scandal exposé by Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson.
Central Luzon police director Chief Superintendent Roberto Calinisan identified Balboa and Morales as among the suspected top operators of the illegal numbers game in Pampanga, whose alleged overall capo Rodolfo "Bong" Pineda is having a hair transplant in California.
Balboa’s jueteng operations are believed spread out through the southwestern towns of Apalit, Masantol, Macabebe, San Simon, San Luis and Sto. Tomas.
On the other hand, Morales has allegedly been operating in San Fernando, Bacolor, Guagua, Sta. Rita, Sto. Tomas, Floridablanca, Porac and Arayat.
It is not known whether the two have already been arrested.
Chief Superintendent Francisco Villaroman of the regional Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has dispatched operatives to various parts of Central Luzon amid reports of jueteng resurgence after Bingo 2-Ball was stopped.
But apparently, lawmen are finding it hard to apprehend the guerrilla jueteng operators.
Just last Friday, a correspondent of a national newspaper based in San Fernando won P1,600 from his P10 bet, after the jueteng draw at 5 p.m. yielded the winning combination of 8 and 2.
"I really don’t even think they draw the numbers from a tambiolo," he said, noting that all his winning number combinations in the past were derived from computing the sums of previous winning tandems.
In many areas of Pampanga, however, jueteng seems to have halted. In Mabalacat town, collectors have been seen lining up for job applications at the Clark Special Economic Zone and at the Angeles City Export Processing Center.
"Kailangan makakita kaagad ng trabaho dahil magpa-Pasko pa naman (I need to find a job quick because Christmas is fast approaching)," said a paraplegic resident of Barangay Lakandula in Mabalacat who used to support a wife and two kids through his earnings as a bookie. – Ding Cervantes