News reports about Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino, Jr. as a jueteng lord is nothing new. On Sept. 20, 2010, retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz gave the Senate committee investigating the illegal numbers game a list containing 12 names of jueteng lords, operators and recipients of payola which he said his group, Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng, had cross-checked with several sources including those with the Philippine National Police and the Department of Interior and Local Government.
Espino’s name was there together with that of two people close to President Aquino: former Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico E. Puno and former Philippine National Police chief Jesus Verzosa, touted to be the next DILG secretary but had to retire early due his negligence in the Aug 23, 2010 Rizal park hostage-taking fiasco.
Other names in the list were Pampanga Gov. Lilia “Baby” Pineda, Paul Dy in Isabela, Ret. Police Supt. Eugene Martin, Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan; Danny Soriano in Cagayan; Ret. Gen. Padilla in Pasay, Parañaque, Muntinlupa and San Pedro; Boy Jalandoni in Bacolod; Eddie Fontanilla; and Rey Cachuela.
After a few days in the headlines, the news died down and Malacañang didn’t take any action. Puno was forced only to resign when he got embroiled in the controversial search of the residence of the later DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo while the search for his (Robredo’s) body was still going on after a plane crash.
In a TV interview, Press Secretary Edwin Lacierda said the problem with the list of Archbishop Cruz was that it was not supported by evidence.
Archbishop Cruz is right. The government has the resources and the machinery to validate the allegations in the list. If Malacanang is interested it can mobilize the National Bureau of Investigation and all its intelligence agencies including that of the PNP and the military, if it is really interested to eradicate the illegal numbers game which victimizes the poor and distorts democracy through the use of jueteng money in politics.
The archbishop said he and his witnesses took great risks in giving the government information on jueteng. “I have faced the Senate before, brought all my witnesses without benefit of lawyer or security. We named names, we identified amounts, we said all circumstances and nothing. Even one of our whistleblowers was killed. Even to this day, we don’t know who did it.”
Cruz must have been referring to Wilfredo”Boy” Mayor, one of the jueteng whistleblowers who was gunned down in Pasay City in Feb. 2010.
Last Friday, Archbishop Cruz was again with Pangasinan Mayor Rodrigo Orduña who revealed that he was doing a “Chavit” for Espino since 2001, turning over to him at least P3 million a month collection from jueteng operators.
When Espino became governor in 2007, he took control of the jueteng operations in Pangasinan and was collecting P10 million a month, Orduna said.
Orduña’s revelation was corroborated by confessed jueteng operator Fernando “Boy Bata”Alimagno.
The two filed plunder charges against Espino with the Office of the Ombudsman alleging that he accepted P900 million jueteng money.
It is worth noting that Orduña said he started collecting jueteng money for Espino who was then a member of the House of Representative (2nd district) in 2001, which was the year an elected president, Joseph Estrada by the so called “civil society” calling for reforms in the government.
Civil society installed then Vice President Gloria Arroyo, who is widely known as “anak ng jueteng” because one of her top elections contributors was Rodolfo “Bong” Pineda, a known jueteng lord.
Espino denied Orduña’s allegations saying “it’s politically motivated.”
Maybe. Although Espino, a retired PNP officer, has abandoned Arroyo and claims to support the Aquino administration, he belongs to the Nationalist People’s Coalition of Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco. He is not with the Liberal Party, the political party of the President Aquino and DILG Secretary Mar Roxas.
Maybe because he does not belong to the political party that is in power, there’s a good chance of the plunder case against Espino prospering. Maybe, there would be more validation of the role of other personalities in Cruz’s list. Maybe there’s a good chance that jueteng in Central Luzon would be stopped as Roxas vowed.
If that happens, then that’s good politics.
If you ask me it is as serious as the allegation of Corruption (Public Contracts rigging in Quebec) that is now the subject of an All OUT Police Probe that sees many town mayors, business leaders and politicians arrested and charged for Criminal Offenses…the Provincial Government lost in Election just recently and the ongoing Probe of the City government of Montreal…Now the other question…will there be an arrest and charges arising from these Jueting Allegations?
Hindi ko alam bakit may mga tao na kontra sa Jueteng. Kayo na mga tao na kontra sa jueteng ay atupagin niyo na lang ang buhay niyo, sa kung saan kayo kumikita. Ang mga tao na tumataya sa jueteng ay hindi naman nagnanakaw para may itaya sa numero na gusto. Mahiya kayo sa sarili niyo. Dito sa mundo hayaan ang isang tao kung saan siya masaya. May mga tao na masaya na nabubuhay sa game of chance, kasama na diyan ang juetend. Kaya hayaan niyo na ang jueteng. Pabayaan di naman kayo nasasaktan di ba.
Sadly it will be the word of the whistleblower against the word of the governor. Mauuwi sa pagalingan ng abogado at sa integrity ng mga hukom.
Ang malungkot pa diyan ay kahit i-legalize nila ang jueteng hindi pa din mawawala kasi ang mga operator ay hindi papasok sa larong magbabayad sila ng buwis.
At ang pinakamasakit diyan ay kung lilinisin ang PNP ay walang matitirang pulis.
Siguro ang isang magandang paraan sa paglaban sa jueteng ay isabit din ang mga barangay officials. Kung may jueteng sa barangay nila tanggal agad sa puwesto through preventive suspension. Ganun din yun mga pulis sa pinakamababang puwesto.
Mahirap mag-umpisa sa ulo. Magaling umilag yun. Putulin muna ang paa nila para di sila makalalakad. Madali ng habulin ang ulo pagputol na ang paa.
Sa mga tao na kontra sa jueteng lalo na iyong maayos naman ang pamumuhay ay mahiya naman kayo sa sarili niyo. Ang mga tumataya ay hindi naman humihingi ng pera sa inyo. Higit sa lahat hindi nagnanakaw para may pangtaya. Atupagin niyo ang buhay niyo, huwag ang iba na sa game of chance umaasa na magkaroon ng pera.
Ellen,
The list is incomplete. It does not include a jueteng family based in the Southern Tagalog area. The family controls the whole of Quezon. The leader of this family is the one that formulated Small Town Lottery to cover up jueteng operations. This leader is the brains behind STL/jueteng. The leader of this jueteng family is very close to a family member of a powerful elected official. Are they untouchable because of this family member? Maybe you should investigate and look into this.