• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A total of 393 persons engaged in illegal gambling, including illegal collectors of Small Town Lottery (STL), known as “bookies,” who were arrested by the police in Negros Occidental, are facing charges for violation of RA 9287, or an Act Increasing the Penalties for Illegal Numbers Games.
Records of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) showed that the arrest of 393 violators yielded P63,476 in cash bets, for the period from January 1 up to the present.
RA 9287, which increases penalties for illegal numbers games in the country, aims to eradicate such activities and punish those involved, including bettors, personnel, and government officials, while also protecting witnesses and incentives for law enforcement officers.
Collectors or agents may be imprisoned for 8 years and day to 10 years, while personnel or staff of illegal numbers game operations face imprisonment for 6 years and up to 8 years, and collectors or agents may be imprisoned for 8 years and day to 10 years.
Police investigations indicate that financiers of illegal gambling are paying the recommended bail set by the court for the arrested bet solicitors, who upon being released, resume their illegal activities.
A bail bond of P60,000 is usually recommended by the court for the temporary release of arrested illegal gambling violators, according to the Philippine National Police.
NOCPPO records further showed a total amount of P11,426,000 in bail has been paid for the release of arrested illegal gambling violators.
The arrest of 393 illegal gambling violators was a result of the intensified campaign of NOCPPO against all forms of illegal gambling, and the proliferation of “bookies,” or illegal betting outlets using STL as a front.
Bookies use the same numbers drawn by STL. However, the illegal bet collectors, referred to as “riders,” oftentimes use the ID cards of STL employees to collect bets that are not remitted to the government.*
