No more illegal lotto outlets in Oro: police

THERE are no more illegal lotto outlets operating in Cagayan de Oro City, said reports submitted by the 10 station commanders of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo).

Police Superintendent Danildo Tumanda, station commander of Police Station 1 in Divisoria, said illegal lotto outlets have already closed shop.

Tumanda said there is only one owner of all illegal lotto outlets in the city and if a raid is conducted in one outlet, all the others would immediately cease operation.

Last week, all police station commanders were ordered by the committee chaired by City Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya to swoop down on all illegal lotto outlets in the city and submit a result by Wednesday.

Philippine National Police (PNP) regional director Gil J. Hitosis also ordered all provincial and city police directors to crack down all illegal gambling activities within their area of responsibility, particularly the operations of illegal lotto outlets.

The order was in response to the statement of former PNP regional director Conrado Laza that all policemen are “collectors” of protection money from illegal gambling activities.

Related to this, PNP spokesperson Police Superintendent Francis Cariaga said he is not sure if Laza really said those statements.

“I don’t believe that was really the exact statement of the former regional director. But it would be hard on our part to conduct an investigation as to how and when to start if all policemen, according to the former RD, are ‘collectors’,” Cariaga said

He said there are hundreds of policemen and if an investigation is done, it would be done “one by one.”