Wednesday, August 22, 2007 Mercado: Jueteng-lotto, video karera By Ram Marcado First Person
THE political feud in Angeles City has shifted to high gear with the city mayor, et al, being charged before the trial court for closing down the suspect's front for an illegal numbers game.
The Sweepstakes Office-STL, which granted an STL franchise to the firm Lake Tahoe, has taken the cudgels for the adverse party, which the mayor ordered padlocked for lack of a business permit.
Delinquent in its payment of amusement fees, the firm is contesting the closure, even with its estimated arrears of some P21 million in a 15-month operation.
I believe Councilor Dan Lacson's cited figures because the guy is not only an expert in jueteng operations before joining politics but is knowledgeable about gross underpayment and mis-declaration regarding the unpaid dues, being part of the past administration as PB member.
Upon inquiry, the lady city treasurer, herself clueless about what happened or where the uncollected balance of the unsettled dues went, has a hard time explaining her office's participation in the imbroglio.
It appears she was protecting some people with her uncertain replies and hazy justification of the caper.
Some City Hall officials suspect that certain PCSO culprits (how else to explain their extraordinary and vehement defense of Lake Tahoe and failure to remit its obligations?) are going to lose substantially (malulugi was the term used) in the event of Lake Tahoe's ultimate closure.
It is common knowledge that the quarrel between the two dynastic families in Angeles, this time triggered by the Lake Tahoe's padlocking, is being fought in many areas. The mayor's order was taken as an affront to the owners of Lake Tahoe, which Lazatin had supported and welcomed.
While police officials in certain areas of the country along with civilian elective officials unite in a single effort to stamp out illegal numbers game camouflaged as STL, Angeles City is a failure in this area.
In Bicol, the PNP regional director even signed a covenant along with his chiefs of police to keep themselves free of bribes or protection money from jueteng operators.
The Bicol area police commander suspect that STL results are manipulated, and STL is no different from jueteng but works as a legal cover for the game.
He added that not all STL bets or collection were honestly reported to the PCSO, but are rather consolidated by the financiers/operators who operate their own (jueteng) game through manipulated results.
While Nepomuceno is still blowing hot on the jueteng group, the "front" has shifted base outside the city, in San Fernando north, actually.
Business leaders/supporters of the new mayor now give police director Sonny Cunanan a "passing rate", one similar to a conditional grade in college, for his minimal display of loyalty and support to Nepomuceno's drive. They are now demanding that Cunanan pass the final test by running after and demolishing substantial units of video karera devices, if Cunanan could, however, succeed in sustained and honest-to-goodness raids on these machines, his critics reported.
The truth is the operators/protectors of the video karera equipment are enjoying a "smashing" profit from the ongoing operations while Nepomuceno and Cunanan have yet to smash the evil devices if only in symbolic display, residents stressed.
The families of jueteng collectors, now in jail after their apprehension, are appealing to one "Marga" to put up the P20,000 bail bond each for their release. The detainees have been promised their liberty by their bosses, assuring them no one in Angeles has ever been convicted of the crime related to jueteng since the Creation.
The usual operandi is to cool things off before the charges on the poor jueteng workers are dropped, the bail bond or nominal interest for premium going to all the suspects involved in the process of dismissing the cases.
The political virus infecting Pampanga has caused collateral damage as I said in my last column.
The name of retired police superintendent Efren Alamares, along that of city police director Cunanan, had been linked in oblique reference to the video karera operations.
The national daily Tribune identified Alamares, Cunanan and one Bombing as the suspect partners with Paris Tolentino as the pointman.
Latest news is Alamares has already conferred with his lawyer to file a libel charge against the Tribune and compel it to reveal the news source, which carried no byline or tagline.
As Mayor Nepo faces a court action from Lake Tahoe, the Tribune will be facing a libel charge, along with the writers/editors of the exposé.
Of course the PCSO-STL concerned people adversely affected by this dynastic quarrel are worried about their own "losses" while the STL offices remained padlocked and its allied groups are on the run? When will Lake Tahow contest, or settle, its arrears amounting to millions of pesos?
