By ADELA DEYAEN WAYAS
www.nordis.net

Baguio City – Mayor Mauricio Domogan denied he was included in the list of jueteng operators and gamblers exposed by retired Archbishop Osacr Cruz. Earlier, Cruz submitted to the Senate Blue Ribbon committee a list of names operating jueteng all over the country.

“Makonsensya kuma isuna (referring to Cruz),” Mayor Domogan said. “The people of Baguio knows I have always been against gambling,” he added. Domogan denied immediately the expose of Cruz after it was shown in national television. The Mayor believed that this was politically motivated.

Domogan explained that he is not going to sue Cruz unless proven that Cruz personally supplied his name in the list. “Nu talaga nga adalen tayo ket ada ti grounds tayo apay ketdi nga haan tayo nga kasuan,” he said.

Domogan was included in the controversial expose’ together with former Police Regional Office – Cordillera Chief Eugene Martin.

Other big people included were Pampanga Governor, Baby Pineda, Paul Dy of Isabela, Danny Soriano of Cagayan, retired General Padilla of Pasay City, Paranaque, Muntinlupa, San Pedro and Laguna; Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino, Boy Jalandoni of Bacolod, Eddie Fontanilla and retired General Rey Cachuela. Secretary Rico Puno of the Department of Interior and Local Government and PNP Chief Jesus Versoza were also named as “ lions’ share” recipients of jueteng.

The Mayor said that before the issue was publicized, he formed Task Force Jupiter against illegal gambling in the city.

Actually, he said, he just came to know that the National Police Commission in 2004 gave the mayor the responsibility to head the task force against illegal gambling. He added that in this resolution the mayor is mandated to form a task force and come out with action plans to be followed to fight illegal gambling.

Unfortunately, Domogan said that since 2004 to 2009 no task force or action plans has been formed. He said that Task Force Jupiter was formed at his own initiative composed by representatives from religious sectors and NGO to really fight illegal gambling.

In the data presented by Domogan, it was shown that from January 01, 2010 to September 23, 2010 there were 18 numbers of operations conducted already of which 59 persons were arrested and a total of 6, 999.50 cash bets have been confiscated in cockfighting, bingo, cara y cruz, poker, bingoteng or jueteng, and mahjong. # nordis.net