MICHAEL MEDINA
Editor in chief
OZAMIZ CITY--Saying all forms of gambling, whether legit or otherwise, destroys the person and society, Ozamiz Vicar General, Msgr. Emie Bienes wants faithful to avoid making a bet at all cost.
Beines, who is also St. Michael Parish priest, added that gambling “breeds laziness and dependence on luck rather than hard work for livelihood.”
While zeroing his admonition on the so-called Small Town Lottery (STL), the bishop likewise declared that earning a living through gambling and or operating a gambling facility is a transgression in the eyes of the church.
STL, says the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), is designed like jueteng, and was initiated as part of the government’s anti-illegal gambling drive during the Aquino administration.
The PCSO added that they came up with STL after receiving a request from the mayors to assist their constituents who have lost their jobs after the government intensified its campaign against the illegal numbers game jueteng.
Beines said he wanted people to stay away from betting on other gambling forms people indulge in, like videokarera and Suertres, as he urged Catholics to “fight gambling” and challenged government officials to “eradicate illegal gambling at the soonest possible time.”
The bishop noted that aside from Suertres, videokarera and tolilot machines are rampantly proliferating in the cities of Ozamiz, Tangub and Oroquieta, and even in the neighboring towns of the province.
“What is more lamentable is the fact all these machines are accessible to minors,” he added.
In nearby Cagayan de Oro City, STL was patronized as an alternative to local illegal numbers game.
Governor Loreto Leo Ocampos, according to DxDD-AM, has ridden on a proposal to debate the legalization of Suertres and let local governments manage and operate it.
Although a source from the governor’s office would neither confirm nor deny this information, the said source believed Ocampos is still against gambling but may have acted only from “some sort of public pressure.”
A day after information of Ocampos’ proposal for a debate to legalize Suertres came out on the radio; the local diocese has already stated its venehement opposition.
The governor aired his proposal for the legalization of local Suertres, accordingly, “because the people could not help but patronize illegal gambling.”
If Suertres is legalized, the government stands to earn anywhere from P6-10 billion a year.
In a huddle with DxDD-AM reporter Wendell Talibong, who interviewed Ocampos on the said issue, Talibong told this paper that Ocampos explained to him his reasons for advocating the legalization of Suertres now.
“Poor people are the primary victims of this immoral exploitation as it lures them into an addictive vice and it destroy family relationship,” Talibong quoted Ocampos to have said to this effect.
But Bienes retorted that Ocampos should instead have done a different tack, like launching a relentless campaign against Suertres operators and other illegal gambling purveyors.
Both Bienes’ and Ocampos’ statements followed that of House Speaker Prospero Nograles declaration that he is confident STL “will indeed wipe out the illegal numbers game jueteng.”
"It will certainly put illegal gambling out. It's the same banana, only this time, its legal and government will get its share," Nograles said.
The house speaker added that putting up of the STL, in this case, is an admission that "the government can lick jueteng so much better."
Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, then CBCP president, issued in Nov. 30, 2006, a statement on illegal gambling, particularly STL.
“This is an urgent and ardent plea addressed to our government officials from the local to the national level. It is also a straight and strong appeal to private individuals and corporate entities involved in the same serious moral issue with socio-political undertones,” the CBCP said.
“For those who do not know and those who refuse to admit it: STL is the legal cover-up for the illegal numbers game of jueteng. The endorsement of STL simply means the promotion of jueteng. We were well appraised that all intelligent computations mathematically show STL will not survive financially without jueteng behind it,” the bishops added.
“In fact, we are told both STL and jueteng have the same operators and collectors, the same poor victims and the same influential wealthy beneficiaries. With STL and jueteng, our poor people become poorer while the gambling payola recipients become twice enriched. STL and jueteng together is legal and illegal gambling combined. They are a dangerous and insidious pairing.”
“We ask: Is it not enough that there are already millions of poor people in the country? Is it not enough that there are men, women and children in the country who no longer eat what they need, when they have to? Is there not enough poverty in the country that the poor should have even less because of STL and jueteng?”
“It would be hard to find elected officials in the country who did not promise during elections that they would serve the poor, work for human development and attend to the common welfare. This is why it would be unconscionable for them to adopt STL and automatically allow jueteng that exploit their already poor constituencies. We pray: Would that our elected officers do not allow themselves to be instruments of poverty aggravation instead of poverty alleviation.”
“Even if STL is legal, does this make it necessarily moral? And when something legal as STL is paired with something illegal as jueteng, is this not in fact something illegal? And would our local and national officials dare promote any illegal operation in the country? With the adoption of STL, it would be next to impossible to stop Jueteng.”
“And so we make this appeal: Stop STL please! It is another cause of corruption, another means of exploitation of the poor. The country has enough of these anti-social factors. Whatever economic development our government shall have proudly achieved will be diminished or negated by the corruption and exploitation that accompany STL and jueteng,” the CBCP added.
In Ozamiz City, placing bets on Suertres is already an accepted norm among residents that City Hall employees do this right under the noses of department heads.
It also alleged that law enforcement officials get P30,000 to P50,000 a week as protection money as P/CInsp. Wilbur Salaguste denies having received so.
“It’s not true. Wala kita nagdawat ug protection money.”
Talking about Suertres, THE PANGUIL BAY MONITOR is reminded of then PNP provincial director P/SSupt. Jose Erwin Villacorte, who declared in November, last year that he will stop Suertres for good.
Villacorte made his promise in front of Ocampos, PNP Regional Director C/Supt. Teodorico Capuyan and all the unit commanders during a command conference held then at the Capitol.
As if to nail his word, Villacorte sternly faced Ocampos and said: “Governor, if I cannot stop unfranchised Suertres within two weeks, I will resign.”
Ocampos, during that time, has stated in an interview with DxDD-AM that he was dissatisfied with Villacorte’s efforts against the illegal numbers game in the whole province, considering that only the “small fishes” were caught and that the “big ones” always got away.
Unfranchised Suertres was named the number one priority among the top 20 crimes happening in Misamis Occidental during the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) held in October 2007.
Ocampos’ reason for dismay was the report then of the PNP Provincial Headquarters Office, which said that it has “minimized” Suertres operations in Oroquieta and Ozamiz cities, Bonifacio, Calamba, Clarin, Jimenez, Plaridel, Sapang Dalaga, and Tudela.
The said report also showed a total stoppage in the illegal numbers game in Tangub City, Baliangao, Concepcion, Don Victoriano, Lopez Jaena, Panaon and Sinacaban.
But Ocampos is not taking the PNP report sitting down, especially when he noticed Suertres operations in Oroquieta and Ozamiz cities, well-known lairs of Suertres financiers, as having been written off only as “minimized.”
The governor said he wants the police to exert more effort versus all forms of gambling in the province.
It can be recalled that it was Ocampos, who, in Feb. 7, 2005, initiated an anti-Masiao manifesto, which led to the creation of an Amplified Ordinance against the said illegal numbers game.
Masiao, as defined by RA 9287, is an illegal numbers game where the winning combination is derived from the results of the last game of Jai-Alai or the Special Llave portion.
In Misamis Occidental, masiao became notorious because sometimes the results were based on fictitious Jai-Alai games, dubbed by the media as “being played under the bridge.”
In disapproving Masiao betting then, Ocampos said, “this dishonorable practice disintegrates the living legacy we could give to our children [who] need and deserve an environment free from the hazards of such indecent and degrading illegal gambling.”
As an added note, Ocampos said that Masiao “destroys the moral fiber of the society, erode the respectability and credibility of the military and civil government, induce the culture of complacency, laziness and dependencies; increase petty crimes and show no respect on the rule of law.” WITH REPORTS FROM WENDELL TALIBONG
Beines, who is also St. Michael Parish priest, added that gambling “breeds laziness and dependence on luck rather than hard work for livelihood.”
While zeroing his admonition on the so-called Small Town Lottery (STL), the bishop likewise declared that earning a living through gambling and or operating a gambling facility is a transgression in the eyes of the church.
STL, says the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), is designed like jueteng, and was initiated as part of the government’s anti-illegal gambling drive during the Aquino administration.
The PCSO added that they came up with STL after receiving a request from the mayors to assist their constituents who have lost their jobs after the government intensified its campaign against the illegal numbers game jueteng.
Beines said he wanted people to stay away from betting on other gambling forms people indulge in, like videokarera and Suertres, as he urged Catholics to “fight gambling” and challenged government officials to “eradicate illegal gambling at the soonest possible time.”
The bishop noted that aside from Suertres, videokarera and tolilot machines are rampantly proliferating in the cities of Ozamiz, Tangub and Oroquieta, and even in the neighboring towns of the province.
“What is more lamentable is the fact all these machines are accessible to minors,” he added.
In nearby Cagayan de Oro City, STL was patronized as an alternative to local illegal numbers game.
Governor Loreto Leo Ocampos, according to DxDD-AM, has ridden on a proposal to debate the legalization of Suertres and let local governments manage and operate it.
Although a source from the governor’s office would neither confirm nor deny this information, the said source believed Ocampos is still against gambling but may have acted only from “some sort of public pressure.”
A day after information of Ocampos’ proposal for a debate to legalize Suertres came out on the radio; the local diocese has already stated its venehement opposition.
The governor aired his proposal for the legalization of local Suertres, accordingly, “because the people could not help but patronize illegal gambling.”
If Suertres is legalized, the government stands to earn anywhere from P6-10 billion a year.
In a huddle with DxDD-AM reporter Wendell Talibong, who interviewed Ocampos on the said issue, Talibong told this paper that Ocampos explained to him his reasons for advocating the legalization of Suertres now.
“Poor people are the primary victims of this immoral exploitation as it lures them into an addictive vice and it destroy family relationship,” Talibong quoted Ocampos to have said to this effect.
But Bienes retorted that Ocampos should instead have done a different tack, like launching a relentless campaign against Suertres operators and other illegal gambling purveyors.
Both Bienes’ and Ocampos’ statements followed that of House Speaker Prospero Nograles declaration that he is confident STL “will indeed wipe out the illegal numbers game jueteng.”
"It will certainly put illegal gambling out. It's the same banana, only this time, its legal and government will get its share," Nograles said.
The house speaker added that putting up of the STL, in this case, is an admission that "the government can lick jueteng so much better."
Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, then CBCP president, issued in Nov. 30, 2006, a statement on illegal gambling, particularly STL.
“This is an urgent and ardent plea addressed to our government officials from the local to the national level. It is also a straight and strong appeal to private individuals and corporate entities involved in the same serious moral issue with socio-political undertones,” the CBCP said.
“For those who do not know and those who refuse to admit it: STL is the legal cover-up for the illegal numbers game of jueteng. The endorsement of STL simply means the promotion of jueteng. We were well appraised that all intelligent computations mathematically show STL will not survive financially without jueteng behind it,” the bishops added.
“In fact, we are told both STL and jueteng have the same operators and collectors, the same poor victims and the same influential wealthy beneficiaries. With STL and jueteng, our poor people become poorer while the gambling payola recipients become twice enriched. STL and jueteng together is legal and illegal gambling combined. They are a dangerous and insidious pairing.”
“We ask: Is it not enough that there are already millions of poor people in the country? Is it not enough that there are men, women and children in the country who no longer eat what they need, when they have to? Is there not enough poverty in the country that the poor should have even less because of STL and jueteng?”
“It would be hard to find elected officials in the country who did not promise during elections that they would serve the poor, work for human development and attend to the common welfare. This is why it would be unconscionable for them to adopt STL and automatically allow jueteng that exploit their already poor constituencies. We pray: Would that our elected officers do not allow themselves to be instruments of poverty aggravation instead of poverty alleviation.”
“Even if STL is legal, does this make it necessarily moral? And when something legal as STL is paired with something illegal as jueteng, is this not in fact something illegal? And would our local and national officials dare promote any illegal operation in the country? With the adoption of STL, it would be next to impossible to stop Jueteng.”
“And so we make this appeal: Stop STL please! It is another cause of corruption, another means of exploitation of the poor. The country has enough of these anti-social factors. Whatever economic development our government shall have proudly achieved will be diminished or negated by the corruption and exploitation that accompany STL and jueteng,” the CBCP added.
In Ozamiz City, placing bets on Suertres is already an accepted norm among residents that City Hall employees do this right under the noses of department heads.
It also alleged that law enforcement officials get P30,000 to P50,000 a week as protection money as P/CInsp. Wilbur Salaguste denies having received so.
“It’s not true. Wala kita nagdawat ug protection money.”
Talking about Suertres, THE PANGUIL BAY MONITOR is reminded of then PNP provincial director P/SSupt. Jose Erwin Villacorte, who declared in November, last year that he will stop Suertres for good.
Villacorte made his promise in front of Ocampos, PNP Regional Director C/Supt. Teodorico Capuyan and all the unit commanders during a command conference held then at the Capitol.
As if to nail his word, Villacorte sternly faced Ocampos and said: “Governor, if I cannot stop unfranchised Suertres within two weeks, I will resign.”
Ocampos, during that time, has stated in an interview with DxDD-AM that he was dissatisfied with Villacorte’s efforts against the illegal numbers game in the whole province, considering that only the “small fishes” were caught and that the “big ones” always got away.
Unfranchised Suertres was named the number one priority among the top 20 crimes happening in Misamis Occidental during the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) held in October 2007.
Ocampos’ reason for dismay was the report then of the PNP Provincial Headquarters Office, which said that it has “minimized” Suertres operations in Oroquieta and Ozamiz cities, Bonifacio, Calamba, Clarin, Jimenez, Plaridel, Sapang Dalaga, and Tudela.
The said report also showed a total stoppage in the illegal numbers game in Tangub City, Baliangao, Concepcion, Don Victoriano, Lopez Jaena, Panaon and Sinacaban.
But Ocampos is not taking the PNP report sitting down, especially when he noticed Suertres operations in Oroquieta and Ozamiz cities, well-known lairs of Suertres financiers, as having been written off only as “minimized.”
The governor said he wants the police to exert more effort versus all forms of gambling in the province.
It can be recalled that it was Ocampos, who, in Feb. 7, 2005, initiated an anti-Masiao manifesto, which led to the creation of an Amplified Ordinance against the said illegal numbers game.
Masiao, as defined by RA 9287, is an illegal numbers game where the winning combination is derived from the results of the last game of Jai-Alai or the Special Llave portion.
In Misamis Occidental, masiao became notorious because sometimes the results were based on fictitious Jai-Alai games, dubbed by the media as “being played under the bridge.”
In disapproving Masiao betting then, Ocampos said, “this dishonorable practice disintegrates the living legacy we could give to our children [who] need and deserve an environment free from the hazards of such indecent and degrading illegal gambling.”
As an added note, Ocampos said that Masiao “destroys the moral fiber of the society, erode the respectability and credibility of the military and civil government, induce the culture of complacency, laziness and dependencies; increase petty crimes and show no respect on the rule of law.” WITH REPORTS FROM WENDELL TALIBONG