• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The month long anti-illegal gambling campaign of the police in Negros Occidental and highly urbanized Bacolod City has resulted in the apprehension of 279 violators.
Of the violators, 230 were accounted for by NOCPPO, while 49 were arrested by BCPO, for the month, according to regional police spokesman PLt. Col. Arnel Solis.
In the entire region, Solis said the crackdown on illegal gambling resulted in the apprehension of 358 suspects and the recovery of P159,000 in cash bets.
NOCPPO logged the highest number of apprehensions with 230 or 64.24 percent of the total arrests, followed by BCPO with 49, and Iloilo PPO with 25.
“These arrests show that our efforts do not only focus on the illegal drugs and wanted persons. All forms of illegal activities are strictly watched and if evidence warrants, those involved will be subjected to law enforcement operations,” PBrig. General Jack Wanky, regional police director of Western Visayas, said in a statement.
Antique and Antique PPOs arrested 14 suspects each, Capiz PPO – 13, followed by Iloilo City Police Office – 7, and Guimaras PPO with 6.*