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Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Senate to summon jueteng payola 'bagmen'
MANILA -- Two Senate committees investigating the illegal numbers game jueteng and payola issue will invite to its hearing alleged bagmen and other personalities named by a former jueteng operator Monday.
Those to be subpoenaed are Arthur Naguit alias Catoy, alleged bagman of presidential son and Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, Senior Police Officer 1 Charlie Llasos, David Gener alias Boy Tangkad, a certain Caloy and Jojie, whose real names were being checked.
Malacañang said it is not bothered by this latest accusation against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's son.
Senator Manuel Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs, said the testimony of the alleged bagmen would determine the involvement of public officials in jueteng.
Villar and Senator Manuel Lapid, chairman of the Senate games and amusement committee, are jointly investigating jueteng and reports of alleged payola received by President Arroyo's son, legislators and police officials.
Wilfredo Mayor, a self-confessed jueteng operator, claimed in the Senate investigation last Monday that Congressman Arroyo and Bicol Representatives Krisel Lagman-Luistro, Carlos Imperial and Jose Salceda get monthly payola of P600,000, P250,000, P300,000, and P400,000, respectively.
Luistro allegedly receives her payola through Caloy while Imperial allegedly gets his share through Llasos. Jojie allegedly receives the share for Salceda. Gener is the alleged bagman of Manila-based journalists who also allegedly get jueteng payola.
Since Mayor said he did not see the four congressmen accept the money themselves, Villar said they could not establish a link between jueteng and the four congressmen. This is the reason why they want the bagmen to appear at the Senate investigation.
The next schedule of the hearing would be announced soon.
The President's spokesman said in Malacañang that Arroyo is doing her job and not letting the accusations against her son affect her.
"She knows what needs to be done, she knows we need to implement the laws especially on jueteng and this is her order. As far as the charges are concerned, these are considered allegations and so far as you will see no evidence has been given to back up these allegations," said Bunye.
When asked to comment on Mayor's credibility, Bunye said, "I'm not the best person to ask that, I'd say that from what I've heard, what I've seen and many senators agree, there's not enough evidence presented."
At the Department of Justice, Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. said he has no plans of filing charges against Mayor in deference to the Senate, which has taken custody of the witness.
However, he considered the testimony of Mayor as a good lead to hunt down other jueteng operators and protectors as well.
"His testimony is hearsay but it is a good lead. If followed up properly that is a good lead," Gonzalez added.
Gonzalez, however, said only the court can give to Mayor immunity from whatever charges that may arise as a result of his testimony.
In response, Senate President Franklin Drilon asked Gonzalez to stop intimidating Mayor by issuing such statement.
Drilon said Gonzalez, being a government official, should be the first person to encourage witnesses to come out in the open and testify.
"He should be reminded that he represents the DOJ (Department of Justice) and has at his disposal a vast number of government prosecutors. As it is, he sounds very intimidating. In doing so, he can suppress the truth," Drilon added.
Gonzalez's pronouncements, according Senator Panfilo Lacson, would result in his facing a tough time at Commission on Appointments (CA) when it decides on the justice chief's appointment.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz is also not happy with the way his witness is being treated and said it is payback time for groups and individuals involved in jueteng.
Cruz said the smear campaign against Mayor is obviously an attempt to restore the people's belief that jueteng is a "harmless" and "innocent pastime".
With Mayor naming the beneficiaries, protectors and financiers of jueteng operations in the country, Cruz said "happy days appear to be over for the jueteng capitalists, financiers, operators as the nation groans from the social costs brought about by jueteng. It is about time that the decades of social decay and the systematic corruption perpetrated by jueteng payolas be ended once and for all."
He criticized anew moves to legalize jueteng. "What has been long since wrong would be strangely made right, their vicious deeds thus overlooked their corrupted persons thereby deodorized," Cruz said. (JPM/JMR/MSN)
(June 1, 2005 issue)
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