Oro police to form anti-illegal gambling task force

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By Pamela Jay F. Orias

CAGAYAN de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) chief Ronnie Francis Cariaga would soon form a task force to crack down illegal gambling operators in the city which he vowed to cripple in two months.

Speaking before the City Council session Tuesday, September 6, Cariaga said he would put an end to the long-overdue gambling problem in the city that led lotto operators in the locality to close some 20 lotto outlets for major losses in sales.

Astrid Bana, president of Misamis Oriental-Cagayan de Oro Lotto Agents Association, suggested to the police chief that a task force should be created to chase after big and small illegal operators.

"I hope you realize that the menace of illegal gambling is as big as the illegal drug activities. These two are twin problems in the society," Bana said.

Bana said that six years ago, lotto operators can gain P20,000 per day but after illegal gambling became the trend, their income lowered down to P2,000 month.

Cariaga, for his part, related the difficulty in convicting illegal gambling operators despite doubled efforts in the arrests.

"Sa prosecutor pa lamang, drop na ang kaso. Isa sa reason is ang Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) is dili mo-kaso. Lisod gayud ta mokuha og search warrant. Kasagaran ang atong madakpan, mapriso lage pero dili raman magdugay," Cariaga said.

Cariaga said in just two months after he assumed as officer-in-charge of Cocpo, they had already launched 20 operations against illegal gambling compared to the former Cocpo administration's nine operations in six months.

"Kulang man gyud kita ug manpower like in each of our police stations, we have only 5 to 7 operatives, and these operatives operate on all of the crimes. So ang solution is we strategize na dili ma-compromise and lain pud nato nga priority," he said.

Cariaga also furthered that just like the war against drugs, the barangay possesses a crucial role in identifying illegal gambling operators.

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