Tupas turns down gambling offer
Tupas
Iloilo -- True to his commitment to fight illegal gambling Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas Sr. recently turned down an offer by two numbers game operators from Manila to operate "jueteng" here in the province.
In his regular press conference with Capitol beat reporters Tupas confirmed that he was visited by two gambling operators recently to ask permission if they can operate in the province.
Tupas refused to name the identities of the gambling operators but he said they are considered big operators in Metro Manila and other Luzon provinces.
Tupas disclosed that one of the two operators had also approached him before the 2004 elections.
The governor said the two operators proposed to operate a modern form of numbers game that "fraud-free".
They also promised him to have a monthly take of P500,000 if they be allowed to operate in the Iloilo but Tupas turned down the offer.
He said it is his commitment to prevent the entry of all forms of illegal gambling in the province and he stands firm to it.
Tupas said he merely advised the gambling operators who visited his office to spare the province of Iloilo.
Eradication of illegal gambling and other illegal activities is on top of the governor's agenda since he assumed his first term in 2001.
In his 2005 state of the province address he even boasted that the province is jueteng free. He also directed the provincial police to conduct regular monitoring in towns to avert guerilla operations by gambling operators.
Lately, Tupas pointed that the sporadic existence of "daily double", local version of jueteng, in some municipalities of the province originate from Iloilo City.
He said what exists in the municipalities are merely bet collectors, the results are being drawn in the city.