Illegal gambling is still rampant in this poverty-stricken city.The Manila Jueteng Problem still remains and has resurfaced again and evident in the arrests of several people involved in the said illegal form of gambling.Manila mayor Alfredo Lim along MPD director Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay promised that they will rid the city of illegal jueteng operators. Instead, there are intelligence reports that illegal jueteng operators are slowly resuming their activities in the city.
The recent arrests of several people are clear indications that the once eradicated Manila Jueteng Problem is still flourishing. Part of the reason why this illegal gambling problem has resurfaced is that police officers and city officials are involved in this trade. This illegal numbers game is widely known to enjoy the blessing of dishonest policemen and city hall officials. In return for the protection extended, these jueteng guardians are bribed with a portion of the profits generated from this illegal activity.
The inability of the police force to prosecute these people involved in Jueteng has further escalated the Manila Jueteng Problem. Many people who are involved in this illegal activity were able to elude arrests due to the influence of higher police officials and city hall personnel including the Mayor of Manila. Moreover, jueteng operators in the city have developed a way to avoid arresting police officials.Investigations revealed that jueteng lords in the city operate in a 'kangaroo' style and transfer from one place to another to avoid detection.
Jueteng operators in the city have also found a sense of resiliency in how to cover up their illegal operations.To deceit and mislead the city's law enforcers, these jueteng collectors pretend they are soliciting bets for the government-sponsored EZ-2 lotto. Jueteng is almost similar to EZ-2 which is a legal numbers game launched by the government through the PCSO. Jueteng and EZ-2 both involved a winning two-number combination where bettors place their bets.
The only thing that separates the two is that jueteng is drawn secretly and exists as an underground transaction. It is rumored that the winning combination in jueteng is selected by the operator.Jueteng operators usually pick choose combinations with fewer bets to accumulate bigger profits.Meanwhile, EZ-2 is legal and drawn live on TV.
Unless the city government under Mayor Alfredo Lim and Manila Police Department admit and end their involvement in this kind of illegal activity; the Manila Jueteng Problem will remain unanswered.If Mayor Lim and Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay are serious in eradicating this kind of illegal activity in the city, their action should begin within their ranks.They should be going after the protectors and big time jueteng lords instead of arresting small bet collectors. Moreover, the city government must also look into the bigger picture and address the real cause why this illegal numbers game even exists.
There are many reasons why the Manila jueteng problem has once again resurfaced as apparent in the arrests of several people involved in the said illegal form of gambling. The reported involvement of police and city halls officials in the illegal activity has made it impossible to address this problem. Moreover, the inability of the police force and Mayor of Manila Alfredo Lim to bring those people involved in Jueteng has further aggravated the problem.
-Julius Arante
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