MANILA, OCTOBER 4, 2010 (STAR) - President Aquino remains mum on what he intends to do with Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Rico Puno but said yesterday that he has already received the comprehensive plan on how to eradicate jueteng.
Puno drew flak for the bungled negotiations during the Aug. 23 hostage crisis and was accused of receiving bribe money from jueteng operations.
The President said he would give Puno due process amid calls to sack him. The undersecretary, on the other hand, had expressed his readiness to submit his courtesy resignation if he has become a burden to the administration.
The President said Puno had just arrived from Vietnam on an official business trip and they had not talked.
Mr. Aquino said he talked with DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo Friday night about the government's move to stamp out the illegal numbers game.
"We don't want to deal with the problem by parts, we want to address the whole of it," the President said in an ambush interview.
Mr. Aquino said he would review the plan and study how it could be implemented.
Earlier, the President said he would not arrest bet collectors just to show that his government was doing something to stop jueteng. He said he wanted the big-time jueteng lords to fall through comprehensive measures.
Mr. Aquino also said that he had not yet spoken with his cousin, businessman Antonio Cojuangco, who had reportedly asked retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz to go easy with his jueteng exposés because it was hurting the administration.
Cojuangco denied Cruz's claim and said the list of those allegedly receiving jueteng bribes was unsubstantiated and should not be given credence.
Mr. Aquino said his cousin was with him on his recent trip to the United States but they were not able to talk.
STL 'legalizes' jueteng
Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said yesterday that the move to legalize jueteng will not prosper because its operations has already been legalized with the introduction of the Small Town Lottery (STL) in some parts of the country.
Rodriguez told reporters during the weekly Kapihan sa Sulo news forum that the operators of STL also operate jueteng.
In fact, he said, STL has replicated the "payola system" adopted by jueteng lords by paying certain amount to mayors, congressmen, governors and top police officials to operate in local government units.
"STL has actually legalized bribery," Rodriguez said.
He emphasized that local government officials who allow the operation of STL are given certain percentage of the sale of the number games.
He said jueteng lords who were given STL franchises continue their operations and their collectors are using official STL employee ID cards issued by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
Rodriguez said the STL has practically shielded the jueteng operators from being arrested by the police because they are operating legally. - Aurea Calica, Perseus Echeminada
RP hosts Asean+3 leaders' meet By Michael Punongbayan (The Philippine Star) Updated October 04, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0)
MANILA, Philippines – Business leaders from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus three partner countries – China, Japan and the Republic of Korea – are set to meet in the Philippines this week to discuss strategies on sustainable production and consumption as an emerging new trend of doing business globally.
Scheduled on Oct. 6 to 7, 2010 at the Bayview Park Hotel in Manila, the two-day conference organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies, the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity and the ASEAN Secretariat is designed to equip business and industry leaders with the necessary knowledge, skills and tools in addressing the issue of sustainable production and consumption.
Environment Secretary Ramon Paje explained that the trend now is to "do more with less" which is why several companies in the Philippines have started to review and implement changes on how they can use water, energy and raw materials more efficiently.
"Sustainable production and consumption is a challenge for government, industries and the business sector to promote and come up with better products and services that are cleaner and more efficient. The Philippines has always been committed to pursue sustainable development, and this conference will help the country take steady steps towards sustainability," he said.
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