President Rodrigo Duterte said he would leave illegal numbers games or jueteng alone for the time being because a crackdown could create a vacuum for the drug trade to thrive.
Speaking before the Vice Mayors League of the Philippines in Bohol, Duterte said he would let jueteng operations continue until those employed by them could find alternative work.
“If I stop it, I must be prepared to give another livelihood scheme to the people. Because if that was stopped, and nothing [is there] to replace [it], drugs will come in,” he said.
Jueteng, the President said, was an economic activity that helps circulate money in the provinces.
If he orders police to crack down on them now, no other economic activity would take its place.
“If I don’t have a replacement for jueteng what will I do? They will turn to illegal drugs,” he said.
“There’s a time for everything, a time to gamble, a time to be a drug lord and a time to stop shitting around,” the President said.
The President would consult with his Cabinet on alternative livelihood possibilities.
He also said no administration has ever stopped jueteng.
“I am not saying that I’m not going to take any action. I will. But I am aware of the danger of what will develop after you stop jueteng,” he added.
Duterte said he would let Congress decide if jueteng or illegal numbers game should be legalized.
Senator Panfilo Lacson on Friday said authorities, including the Philippine National Police, are duty-bound to enforce the law against illegal gambling such as jueteng.
He said there’s an existing law declaring jueteng, among other forms of gambling, as illegal.
“It is not exempt from being pursued by law enforcement authorities. It also breeds corruption among law enforcement agencies,” said Lacson, who was the PNP chief from 1999 to 2001.
Besides, he warned, even pausing anti-jueteng operations could be “risky and addicting” for police officials who may get offers from jueteng operators.
He said President Duterte, who was earlier quoted as saying he might allow jueteng operations for now, may have meant he wanted to prioritize illegal drugs over illegal gambling, if there is compelling reason.
He said there can be no legal justification not to arrest an offender who is committing a crime in the presence of a law enforcer, be it a drug offender or an illegal gambler.
Lacson also stressed police personnel are mandated to enforce the law, and can only follow legal orders.
Because of this, he said police personnel “should be ready for the consequences if they follow illegal orders from anybody, not from their superiors, not from their commander-in-chief.”
Following illegal orders from their superiors, including their commander-in-chief, “is not a valid legal defense in court,” Lacson added.
Lacson recalled that on the eve of his assumption of command of the PNP, he received offers from operators of P1.2 million a month, in exchange for allowing jueteng to operate. Lacson firmly declined the offer.
“Human experience would tell us how petty corruption morphs into something big, then bigger and bigger, until a person mostly clothed with official authority doesn’t know anymore how and when to stop.”
“Worse, from monthly takes courtesy of gambling operators, he shifts to a much bigger protection money from smugglers, drug lords, and the like. And before anybody realizes it, the whole country is faced with serious national security and economic problems,” he added.