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 have continuously reiterated that they will rid the city of illegal jueteng operators. Instead, there are intelligence reports that illegal jueteng operators are currently operating in the city.
The recent arrests of several people are clear indications that the once eradicated Manila Jueteng Problem is still flourishing. 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 jueteng protectors 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 discovered a way to elude arresting police officials. Investigations found out that jueteng lords in the city work using 'kangaroo' style and they transfer from one place to another to elude detection.
Jueteng operators in the city have also discovered some sort of resiliency in hiding 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 are both using 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 choose combinations with fewer bets to increase their 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 serious in eradicating this kind of illegal activity in the city, their action should 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 should study closely 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 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.
-Julius Arante
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