“Small wonder that these activities have been going on for a long time.”
“Small wonder that these activities have been going on for a long time.”
Gambling lords in the town of San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija would not allow the COVID-19 pandemic to disrupt their lucrative business.
But acting on a complaint, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Special Action Unit discovered that a cockfighting live streaming was illegally being conducted in this town south of Cabanatuan City.
Just like the Raiders of the Lost Ark, the NBI agents swooped down on the site at the Mavis Sports Complex.
The “online sabong” live streaming operation, which has been going on for quite some time, did not have a permit from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to operate.
Several workers and aficionados were apprehended but the main operator apparently “escaped” the NBI raiders.
It turned out that those apprehended for illegal gambling were released shortly on orders of the assistant prosecutor during the inquest and disposed of the case “for further investigation.”
Upon hearing that the cockfighting was back for live streaming from Mavis Sports Complex, Philippine National Police Regional Police Office-3 (PNP-RPO-3) director P/General Val De Leon ordered his men to stop the activities and shut down the area.
“There are persistent complaints through phone calls so we have to act on it,” General De Leon said.
Local residents were apparently alarmed with the gathering of cockfighting aficionados inside the arena which is a violation of the health protocol against social gathering ordered enforced by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for COVID-19.
Authorities have traced several incidents of Covid transmission to cockfighting events in the provinces due to crowding in the “sabungan” or cockfighting arenas.
The PNP-PRO3 Chief said the online sabong operation was not covered by sufficient documents, including the Notice to Commence from PAGCOR, necessitating its closure.
General De Leon, however, said the illegal gambling lord remained elusive and disappeared like a ghost.
Reliable sources said the ghostly gambling lord is a high-ranking local government official.
Well, if a top LGU official is behind this online gambling operation, there is little wonder why it has been going on for years.
LGU charges P50 “blotter fee”
Meanwhile an enterprising local government unit (LGU), the Municipality of Camaligan, Camarines Sur, has been reportedly charging a P50 fee for anyone who requests a copy of his blotter report.
Imagine a victim of a robbery-snatching and going to the Camaligan Police Station to report the incident.
Thinking that he may be needing documentation on the incident, he requests the desk sergeant for a copy of the blotter entry.
Unfortunately, he can not have any because it requires a payment of P50, and he just lost whatever little money he has left.
Camaligan Police chief P/Capt. John Angelo Romeroso said the P50 fee has been collected by the LGU for years and covered by a receipt, as authorized by a municipal ordinance.
PNP Chief P/General Guillermo Eleazar was shocked to hear about having to pay a “blotter fee.”
General Eleazar said the local PNP unit should waive the fee.
Undersecretary RJ Echiverri, of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said the PNP Chief’s directive to waive the fee takes precedence over the municipal ordinance.
I will not be surprised if the Camaligan Police Station in this town west of Naga City gets visited by the Chief PNP one of these days.