July 11, 2004

The Philippine STAR, Opinion Page

We Cannot Keep On Jueteng

By Babe Romualdez

If authorities have a difficult time stopping the flow of illegal drugs and smuggled goods into the country; what are the chances of eliminating a lesser evil like jueteng?  As a variation of the lotto numbers game, jueteng has been around for centuries.  

Jueteng was first discovered to be tied to corruption and politics during the 1920s.  In June 1929, El Tiempo, a Spanish newspaper, reportedly exposed the connection between Iloilo Governor Mariano Arroyo and an Iloilo congressman Tomas Buenaflor with a Chinese-mestizo Koh Tong Lee, the "jueteng emperor," fronting for them.

According to the book An Anarchy of Families, the investigation by Judge Manuel V. Moran showed that "Arroyo and Buenaflor operated a gambling den at the Mahinay building starting March 1929.  Arroyo received P1,000 per month as his share of the gambling proceeds.  He meant to amass P100,000 in anticipated election expenses."

Even at that time, US Governor General Dwight Davis concluded that gambling was so inherent in the Filipino culture whether it be bingo, masiao, jueteng or lotto — that the only way to cut the pervasive corruption was to legalize and regulate it.  Rich and poor Filipinos are just simply inveterate gamblers.  

History, indeed, repeats itself — the Church was against it then as it is against it today.  And yet, during the 1920s, it was already reported the Church received donations indirectly from illegal gambling.

In 2000, former PAGCOR Chair Alice Reyes revealed that 68 Church organizations received P181-M in donations from PAGCOR.  The Church then replied that in its long history, it has received dirty money "from thieves and criminals as a way of restitution."  

If the Devil quotes scriptures, Cardinal Sin justified the use of gambling money by making rhetoric fodder out of the Devil, "If Satan would appear to me and give me money, I will accept the money and spend it all for the poor. The devil remains to be my enemy, but I will use his resources to feed the poor." 

Contrary to what Archbishop Rosales said that only jueteng lords will benefit and that people would get even poorer, some argued that legalizing jueteng will enable the government to eliminate the corruption that goes with the illegal operations of the numbers game.  We have to be practical about it.  If it cannot be stopped, then it must be regulated. 

The income that the government will generate will do a lot in pushing the pro-poor agenda of the Arroyo administration.  The PCSO generates a lot of income for the government through the lotto, and a large part of it goes to the poor through the President's Social Fund. The only difference between lotto and jueteng is that the former has been legalized. Both still play on people from all walks of life willing to take a chance at luck. 

PAGCOR must convince the Church and, most importantly, the public on the merits of legalizing jueteng.  The gaming agency should launch an information campaign and mount a road show that will amplify its financial benefits.  Jueteng is a favorite among the masses because it is accessible and affordable. 

A collector or a bookie—he could be your neighborhood toughie or your tobacco-chomping lola — would go from house to house getting bets from players who would pick a winning combination of two numbers from 1 to 37.  The transaction is done in just a few seconds with no hassle at all. 

The numbers are then drawn in a bolahan (lottery center) and the same collector goes through his rounds again announcing the winning combination.  ]ueteng is usually conducted thrice a day, one at noon, then in the afternoon and in the evening.  A bet of PI-could win P900 with the bettor getting P800 and the bookie, a balato of P100.

What makes the illegal numbers game thrive is the patronage of the masa, who see jueteng as a harmless form of diversion.  Take for instance our office messenger, who is a. regular jueteng player.  He says that a one peso bet or a P10 bet will not make him any more poorer than he already is.  At the very least he says, it gives him a 50-50 chance to make extra money rather than nothing.  With that kind of philosophy, how can jueteng be stopped? 

Jueteng is a floating game that can be set up in any single room at any given time.  They move from one place to another whenever the "heat is on" in a given area.  Just the same, everybody knows local officials and law enforcers are in on the take.  

Illegal operation is lucrative, it goes without saying.  After all, it's jueteng that did former President Erap Estrada in when he made the mistake of putting the wrong people like Atong Ang (no relation to Koh Tong Lee) in-charge of legalizing jueteng operations when it should have been PAGCOR from the start. 

Earlier this year, a source said that the government was thinking of legalizing jueteng as a source of much-needed revenues.  Under the plan, PAGCOR would have the sole authority to issue licenses to operate jueteng, with PAGCOR getting 5 percent of the gross revenues and the other 15 percent going to the government's general fund. 

According to the studies made, which I was able to get my hands on, government can rake in a minimum or P966-M a month or a conservative P11-B a year.  The figure is based on an estimated daily turnover of P100,000 per operator at two games per day at 30 days a month.  If one operator would be authorized in every municipality, that would mean about 1,610 operators, each one generating some P3-M a month, 20 percent of which would be P600,000. 

This doesn't even include additional revenues that the local government will generate from licensing permits and local taxes.  We can just imagine what all that money can do to ease the government's debt burden and to pay for badly-needed public services that GMA listed in her 10-point legacy program.

Last Friday, Max Soliven and I had lunch with incoming DILG Secretary Angie Reyes.  He told us that jueteng is more of a social problem than a police problem.  If we refuse to legalize it and do nothing about the poverty situation, then it will continue to be a losing battle for law enforcers. 

Jueteng has been around for a century and will continue to be there for another century.  The extortionists of past, present and future will continue to lord it over the poor who simply won't stop playing the game. 

As Angie says, he has already said his piece and will no longer make any further comment on it.  As far as he is concerned, somebody else should convince the Church and the public about the pluses and minuses of this centuries-old numbers game because at the end of the day, we just can't keep on jueteng.

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Email: babeseyeview@hotmail.com

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