Saturday, March 20, 2010

Manila Jueteng Problem And The City's Rampant Illegal Gambling Activities

Illegal gambling remains rampant in this poverty-stricken city. The Manila Jueteng Problem is still alive 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 vowed that they will rid the city of illegal jueteng operators.Instead, there are intelligence reports that illegal jueteng operators are gradually resuming their activities in the city.

The recent arrests of a number of people are clear evidences that the once eradicated Manila Jueteng Problem is still thriving. One of the major reasons why this illegal gambling problem has resurfaced is that police officers and city officials are involved in this trade.This illegal numbers game is believed to possess the blessing of unscrupulous police and city hall officials. In return for the protection extended, these protectors of jueteng are bribed with a portion of the profits generated from this illegal activity.

The inability of the police force to bring these people involved in Jueteng has further aggravated the Manila Jueteng Problem. Many people who are engaged in this illegal activity were able to evade 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 found a way to evade 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 elude and mislead the city's law enforcers, these jueteng collectors are pretending that they are soliciting bets for the government-sponsored EZ-2 lotto.Jueteng bares resemblance 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 difference is that jueteng is drawn secretly and exists as an underground transaction. It is alleged that the winning combination in jueteng is chosen by the operator. Jueteng operators usually pick choose combinations with fewer bets to accumulate bigger profits.Meanwhile, EZ-2 is officially permitted 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 keen in eliminating this kind of illegal activity in the city, their action must begin within their ranks. They should be hunting down protectors and big time jueteng lords instead of arresting small bet collectors. Moreover, the city government must carefully look into the bigger picture and address the real cause why this illegal numbers game even exists.

The inability of the police force and Mayor of Manila Alfredo Lim to bring those people involved in Jueteng has further aggravated the problem. The reported involvement of police and city halls officials in the illegal activity has made it impossible to address this problem. Moreover, there are other 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.

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