By NICOLE MANAGBANAG
Correspondent
ORGANIZED Suertres lotto agents have claimed that at least four local officials in Misamis Oriental and at least one in Cagayan de Oro are behind illegal gambling operations in this part of the country.
The leader of the group also alleged that the illegal gambling operations were receiving protection from no less than the police that, ironically, has just announced a “war on illegal gambling” in northern Mindanao.
Camp Alagar’s spokesman yesterday urged Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office-accredited Suertres lotto agents to submit their evidence against illegal gambling operators.
Supt. Surki Sereñas said this after he learned that the organized Suertres outlet owners in the city and Misamis Oriental have a list of illegal gambling financiers here.
Sereñas said Camp Alagar welcomes the initiative of the group, and its information would be useful in Camp Alagar’s “war on illegal gambling.”
He said the police need the list and evidence so that it could build strong cases against those behind the illegal gambling operations and send them to jail.
This paper is trying to secure the supposed list of suspected illegal gambling financiers and protectors from the group at presstime.
Astrid Bana, president of the Misamis Oriental-Cagayan de Oro Lotto Agents’ Association, has alleged that four elected officials in the province and one in Cagayan de Oro have been identified as alleged protectors and financiers of the illegal lotto operations.
Bana said the group would form a group and launch a “Tokhang-like” campaign against the illegal Suertres operators.
“The task force we plan to create will be composed of city and provincial officials, PNP, media and AFP,” Bana said.
He said the group would write the illegal gambling financiers and protectors, visit their establishments or even knock on the doors of their houses to “request” them to stop.
“The reason why we organized ourselves kay reports reaching us show that the financiers and protectors of the illegal activities are police officers, local government officials… they are big-time, and we are outnumbered and at high risk,” Bana said.
Sereñas said he doubted if a Tokhang-like campaign would work, saying it would merely be a short term solution.
“Mobalik ra dayun na within the week,” he said. “It is easy to arrest these illegal operators but to pin them down is very difficult. We must provide enough evidence.”
Sereñas also alleged that identifying the suspected illegal gambling operators would make the accusers susceptible to libel cases.
“We cannot just arrest them without probable cause. There should be re-validated information, and they must be caught in the act before we apply the law,” he said.
Sereñas said the long-term goal is to completely stop illegal gambling operations here by way of lawsuits.
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