Publicly and ceremoniously signed by the Secretary General of the house of Representatives and the Secretary General of the Senate and the President of the Philippines, Republic Act. No. 9287 is an exemplary proof and sterling demonstration of the shocking hypocrisy of the present administration in having the said anti-jueteng Republic Act signed and sealed. In letter and expression, one could readily think that it would uproot Jueteng in particular from Philippine society, that it would get rid of the infamous “Jueteng Lords” and their cohorts. But the well worded and much impressive legislative act readily prove to be nothing but a big joke, a marked duplicity and gross deceit. It expressly and officially provides:
a) The penalty of imprisonment from 30 days to 90 days, if such person acts as a bettor;
b) The penalty of imprisonment from 6 years and 1 day to 8 years, if such person acts as a personnel or staff of an illegal numbers game operation;
c) The penalty of imprisonment from 8 years and 1 day to 10 years, if such person acts as a collector or agent;
d) The penalty of imprisonment from 10 years and 1 day to 12 years, if such a person acts as a coordinator, controller or supervisor;
e) The penalty of imprisonment from 12 years and 1 day to 14 years, is such a person acts as maintainer, manager or operator;
f) The penalty of 14 years and 1 day to 16 years, is such a person acts as a financier or capitalist;
g) The penalty of imprisonment from 16 years and one day to 20 years, if such a person as a protector or coddler.”
Made effective from 19 April 2004, the above cited provisions of the said Republic Act are to date more than three years in their binding force. For the record, the illegal numbers’ game of jueteng in the Philippines has grown more than double in people involved and thereby also more than double in daily gambling money collections and wherefore likewise more than double in regular monthly bribes to a good number of local public officials and police authorities.
But the wonder of wonders is that up to this writing, it is interesting to ask if there was or is but one single arrest made of any juetengero in the Country, and thereby meted the proper penalty according to law. To answer this inquiry in the affirmative is illusion. But then, it is possible that jueteng has been totally stopped in the Country. To agree with this possibility is delusion. The truth of the matter is that there is the law died in complete rest the moment it was signed by no less than the Chief Executive in the land, and that there is wherefore even jueteng or its equivalent illegal numbers game all over Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Want to guess why?
January 23, 2009