PNP News Releases 2005

PNP ASSUMES TOUGHER STANCE VS ILLEGAL NUMBER GAMES

Deputy Director General Edgar B Aglipay today announced that the Philippine National Police has made significant headway in the campaign against all forms of illegal gambling in the country.

The PNP Chief gave this assessment before the Commission on Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and the National Crusade Against Jueteng (NCAJ).

According to Aglipay, a total of 11,147 persons have been arrested in 13,213 police operations conducted by different PNP Units from January to August this year for involvement in illegal gambling activities. Among those arrested, 3,544 were engaged in the illegal numbers game jueteng, Aglipay said.

The number of arrests this year, he said, showed a 95% increase in the number of arrested violators of the anit-illegal gambling law as compared with the 5,712 violators arrested during the same 8-month period in year 2003. Records of anti-illegal gambling operations culled by the PNP Directorate for Operations, so far, revealed that 4,581 cases for violation of Presidential Decree 1602 have been filed in court against arrested violators. A total 1,338 of these cases filed involved jueteng activities. A total of P3, 157,450.55 in cash bets were confiscated from violators.

Aglipay has ordered all PNP Units in the country to wage intensified police operations against illegal gambling activities in their areas.

According to PNP Spokesman, Senior Superintendent Leopoldo N Bataoil, “the anti-illegal gambling campaign is being pursued without let-up by all Police Regional Offices in the country, in accordance with the Letter of Instruction “Roulette Milenyo”, the PNP's operational plan against illegal gambling.