PNP intensifies campaign vs illegal gambling
Published Feb 18, 2020 12:00 am
By Aaron Recuenco
The ongoing reshuffle of chiefs of police is forcing police commanders to intensify their operation against all forms of illegal gambling, a senior police official said on Tuesday.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) P/Maj. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar
(PHOTO FROM PIO NCRPO / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN) Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, deputy chief for Operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said that a lot of police commanders are also buoyed by the renewed drive against illegal gambling as a way of getting back at syndicates which filed harassment cases against them in the past. "The Chief PNP (Gen. Archie Gamboa) really means business on this campaign. The relief of different unit commanders in the ground will have a clear message and impact on the other unit commanders," said said Eleazar in a press briefing at Camp Crame during the ceremonial destruction of confiscated video karera machines at the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG). "With this development, we are expecting and hoping that unit commanders would react to once and for all and substantially eradicate these illegal gambling operations," he added. Gamboa earlier reiterated the No Take Policy of the PNP. It comes with an order for all commanders to run after all forms of illegal gambling. Several commanders up to the level of provincial directors were already relieved for failure to address illegal gambling in their turfs. The IMEG, under Col. Ronald Lee, was also tapped to run after policemen who are protecting illegal gambling operations. Eleazar said the full support of Gamboa against illegal gambling should be taken advantage of to finally stamp out the problem. "I call on all policemen to take advantage of the President's full support, the Chief PNP's renewed campaign to get even with these illegal gambling syndicates that openly and boldy challenged us before, these illegal gambling syndicates that tainted our beloved organization, and these illegal gambling syndicates that continue to threaten the morality of our society," said Eleazar in his speech. "Let us leave no stone unturned in revitalizing the internal cleansing of our organization by punishing all PNP personnel involved in these illegal activities while rewarding those who act towards protecting the good name of our organization," he added. Same with drugs Eleazar said that illegal gambling has always been part of the Filipino culture and this was taken advantage of by syndicates for money-making activities. The gambling syndicates, he said, are also responsible in the evolution of illegal gambling which is the reason why there are now online gambling. He then likened illegal gambling problems to that of illegal drugs. "Like illegal drugs, gambling addiction robs the sanity of a person both young and old as it affects both his potential and productivity, it threatens dysfunctionalism in the family and it poses threat to the community where he lives when he is forced to do something to sustain his gambling addiction," said Eleazar. "The worst part of this is if it infects the government agencies like the PNP in the form of bribery and other forms of corruption. This is the reason why illegal gambling syndicates have become emboldened to go on with their operations up to the point of open defiance and circumventing the law for the sake of earning easy and dirty money," he added. Review of modus As chairman of the PNP Oversight Committee, Eleazar said that he had discussed the renewed drive against illegal gambling with police commanders across the country. Eleazar was tasked by Gamboa to review all the modus operandi of illegal gambling syndicates and come up with recommendations before the PNP leadership meets with the government's regulatory bodies like the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation. The first meeting was held on Tuesday. With the guidance of our Chief PNP, we are now conducting and in-depth study and analysis based on our past operations and intelligence reports in order to come up with the best strategies to run after all forms of illegal gambling," said Eleazar.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) P/Maj. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar(PHOTO FROM PIO NCRPO / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN) Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, deputy chief for Operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said that a lot of police commanders are also buoyed by the renewed drive against illegal gambling as a way of getting back at syndicates which filed harassment cases against them in the past. "The Chief PNP (Gen. Archie Gamboa) really means business on this campaign. The relief of different unit commanders in the ground will have a clear message and impact on the other unit commanders," said said Eleazar in a press briefing at Camp Crame during the ceremonial destruction of confiscated video karera machines at the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG). "With this development, we are expecting and hoping that unit commanders would react to once and for all and substantially eradicate these illegal gambling operations," he added. Gamboa earlier reiterated the No Take Policy of the PNP. It comes with an order for all commanders to run after all forms of illegal gambling. Several commanders up to the level of provincial directors were already relieved for failure to address illegal gambling in their turfs. The IMEG, under Col. Ronald Lee, was also tapped to run after policemen who are protecting illegal gambling operations. Eleazar said the full support of Gamboa against illegal gambling should be taken advantage of to finally stamp out the problem. "I call on all policemen to take advantage of the President's full support, the Chief PNP's renewed campaign to get even with these illegal gambling syndicates that openly and boldy challenged us before, these illegal gambling syndicates that tainted our beloved organization, and these illegal gambling syndicates that continue to threaten the morality of our society," said Eleazar in his speech. "Let us leave no stone unturned in revitalizing the internal cleansing of our organization by punishing all PNP personnel involved in these illegal activities while rewarding those who act towards protecting the good name of our organization," he added. Same with drugs Eleazar said that illegal gambling has always been part of the Filipino culture and this was taken advantage of by syndicates for money-making activities. The gambling syndicates, he said, are also responsible in the evolution of illegal gambling which is the reason why there are now online gambling. He then likened illegal gambling problems to that of illegal drugs. "Like illegal drugs, gambling addiction robs the sanity of a person both young and old as it affects both his potential and productivity, it threatens dysfunctionalism in the family and it poses threat to the community where he lives when he is forced to do something to sustain his gambling addiction," said Eleazar. "The worst part of this is if it infects the government agencies like the PNP in the form of bribery and other forms of corruption. This is the reason why illegal gambling syndicates have become emboldened to go on with their operations up to the point of open defiance and circumventing the law for the sake of earning easy and dirty money," he added. Review of modus As chairman of the PNP Oversight Committee, Eleazar said that he had discussed the renewed drive against illegal gambling with police commanders across the country. Eleazar was tasked by Gamboa to review all the modus operandi of illegal gambling syndicates and come up with recommendations before the PNP leadership meets with the government's regulatory bodies like the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation. The first meeting was held on Tuesday. With the guidance of our Chief PNP, we are now conducting and in-depth study and analysis based on our past operations and intelligence reports in order to come up with the best strategies to run after all forms of illegal gambling," said Eleazar.