New PNP chief urged to end jueteng in Bicol

By Manny T. Ugalde

HAILED for the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte and US-wanted evangelist Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, newly appointed Philippine National Police Chief Major General Nestor Torre is now being challenged to eliminate illegal jueteng operations and all forms of gambling—including online cockfighting—in the Bicol Region.

The call comes in the wake of a provincial governor’s suspension and eventual dismissal from office last year, following a jueteng-related complaint filed by a dismissed Capitol political appointee. The complainant, linked to the controversial Mayon quarry operations, claimed to be a former jueteng operator in Albay and accused the governor of receiving P60,000 monthly—or a total of P68 million—over his three-year term as vice governor. Bank remittance documents were cited as alleged proof.

The complaint, which went viral on social media, has sparked controversy. Critics questioned why only one official was singled out. “Why not include the former governor, provincial police commander, local officials, and municipal police chiefs?” netizens asked, labelling the complainant as a politically motivated hack.

Veteran and current mainstream media practitioners in the region, along with the Diocese of Legazpi, have renewed their call for a crackdown on illegal gambling. The Church lamented that jueteng siphons resources from the poor to benefit corrupt police officers and local officials down to the barangay level.

Police and local government officials often justify jueteng’s persistence by claiming it remains due to public demand. However, retired human rights commissioner and professor Salvador Flor recalled that jueteng was once stopped in Albay during the tenure of the late Col. Ferdinand Lagman, provincial police commander from 1984 to 1986. Flor, then a local editor of Bicol Chronicle and Manila Bulletin correspondent, said Lagman refused to tolerate jueteng and even dared higher authorities, local officials, and the media to remove him over his anti-jueteng stance. He was praised by the Catholic Church, with some claiming not even guerrilla operations thrived under his watch.

Lagman was also known for cracking down on criminal gangs, including the infamous Akyat Bahay and highway robbery groups. Human rights advocates, however, accused him of summary executions, pointing to the daily discovery of suspected criminals’ bodies in remote areas.

“Jueteng is evil,” said a parish priest, citing the case of a dismissed provincial executive allegedly persecuted for trying to stop the illegal numbers game. “It is public knowledge that jueteng payola reaches top police officials and barangay leaders.” Albay reportedly records the highest jueteng collections in the region, followed by Camarines Sur.

At least two retired bankers from Albay also joined the call, complaining that bet collectors have become a nuisance in both public and private offices. “Please don’t fail us, General Torre. Get rid of jueteng in Bicol,” they pleaded. They commended Torre for his leadership of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, particularly his bold action in arresting the former president and the self-proclaimed “Son of God,” Quiboloy, who is wanted in the US for non-bailable charges, including illegal fundraising, rape, and human trafficking.

Under President Duterte’s administration, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s Small-Town Lottery (STL) was promoted as a legal alternative to jueteng. However, STL operations in Albay eventually went bankrupt. Provincial board reports in 2017 revealed that STL franchises were awarded to known jueteng operators from the Tagalog region, who used STL operations as a front to funnel collections back to jueteng, where collectors earned bigger commissions.

In 2017, then-PNP Chief and now Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa visited Legazpi. During a press conference at Hotel Pepperland, he was asked about rampant jueteng operations that thrived under the noses of local police and officials. Dela Rosa responded that illegal drugs were his top priority, even joking that jueteng was a livelihood for barangay-level collectors, which, he laughed, “the media also benefits from.”

Out of more than 70 media personnel present, a few—including this writer, then a Manila Times correspondent—challenged Dela Rosa to name media personalities allegedly receiving jueteng payola. A written question submitted during the press conference was never addressed by the presiding government media moderator.