gambling crusaders are ready to hand over to the Aquino government a list of about 30 alleged operators of the popular illegal numbers game “jueteng.” Retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said his group will give the list to new Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo. “We will give him the list with all the names so he'll know who these people are,” said Cruz, who heads the Krusadang Bayan Laban sa Jueteng (KBLJ), in an article posted Tuesday night on the Union of Catholic Asian News website. Cruz earlier voiced full support for Robredo, a former Naga City mayor, who had vowed to stop jueteng. Cruz did not yet reveal the names of the alleged jueteng operators but said “what I know is what my peers tell me. I really don't have direct knowledge but if necessary we will release it.” He added that the KBLJ will help Robredo fight jueteng by monitoring gambling activities in the provinces. “We have people in different dioceses all over the Philippines who help us with monitoring,” he says. He also says the crusaders plan to conduct seminars to educate people on the problems created by the illegal numbers game. “We will support the new secretary in whatever way we can,” Cruz said. Earlier, former president Joseph Estrada said it would be better for the government to legalize jueteng because previous administrations failed to eradicate it. Jueteng was the main cause of the downfall of Estrada, who was convicted of the crime of plunder for receiving protection money from jueteng operators. In October 2000, former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson accused Estrada, his longtime friend, of being the “lord of all jueteng lords” for allegedly receiving P5 million in jueteng protection money every month during his presidency. Public anger over corruption allegations against Estrada led to the People Power Revolution of 2001 at EDSA, also known as EDSA Dos, the four-day revolution that peacefully overthrew Estrada on July 20, 2001.
