Bacalzo seeks stakeholders’ help in fight against illegal gambling
Director General Raul Bacalzo, chief of the Philippine National Police, has asked the cooperation of all community stakeholders in the fight against all forms of illegal gambling.
“This is a serious threat and illegal gambling is not only the sole responsibility of the PNP but everybody’s concern,” he said during the Regional Peace and Order Council meeting at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol last Friday.
Although Western Visayas is free from jueteng, Bacalzo said some illegal numbers like “first two ball,” “daily double,” cara y cruz or “tumbo,” among others still exist and there is no reason for the police to stop hunting their promoters and organizers.
He added although Small Time Lottery is legal, there are reports that STL is also being used as a frontline to some illegal numbers games.
Bacalzo said the PNP needs a multi-sectoral approach in addressing the problem thus, the RPOC plays a big role in organizing local peace and order councils to prevent the proliferation of crimes from regional level down to local areas.
“We do not have monopoly of solution and brains. It all belongs to us and
without the support of the local government unit chiefs and other sectors, we
cannot attain our mission,” he said.
Bacalzo said part of his directive to all regional directors is to review and
intensify anti-illegal gambling intelligence operations to validate the identities of operators and arrest the real suspects.
One-Strike Policy
Bacalzo said the PNP is enforcing the “one-strike policy” on police officials who could not neutralize the illegal numbers games in their respective areas of responsibility.
In Iloilo City, the police chief of Arevalo district was earlier relieved after around 30 persons playing cara y cruz or “tumbo” in his area were arrested by a team from the Police Regional Office 6.
The “one-strike policy” on illegal gambling started in 2005.
Bacalzo said he again adopted the policy to put pressure on the police force.
Under the policy, the head of a police unit will be immediately relieved “without prejudice” when an illegal gambling operation in his area of responsibility is raided or discovered by another law enforcement unit or any task force created by the President.
According to the policy, the relief is the imposed “appropriate administrative
liability” against the said unit head.”*
