Anti-gambling crusader won't provide jueteng evidence

A retired Catholic archbishop, an anti-gambling crusader, said he will not provide the government with proof to back up his claims about government officials allegedly receiving payoffs from the illegal numbers game jueteng. Retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz advised President Benigno Simeon Aquino III to use instead the intelligence capabilities of the agencies under him to ferret out the officials concerned. Cruz said he is hesitant to provide evidence about the government officials involved in jueteng because he fears for the safety of the witnesses after one whistle-blower, Wilfredo "Boy" Mayor, was gunned down earlier this year. “Magpapatunay kami, maglalabas, tapos isa sa amin mapapatay. Ang pumatay kay Boy Mayor, di pa kilala. (Ako), two days ago nakatanggap ako malaking sulat na ang sabi ‘SHUT UP.’ Siguro masyado akong madaldal," Cruz said in an interview on dwIZ radio. (We come out with proof, then one of our witnesses gets killed. Up to now, the killer of jueteng witness Wilfredo ‘Boy’ Mayor has yet to be identified. I have received a death threat already, a big letter telling me to ‘SHUT UP.’ Perhaps some people already find me too noisy.) Mayor, who told senators in 2005 how some officials received jueteng payoffs, was shot dead in Pasay City on February 28. Last weekend, Cruz bared that at least two ranking officials of the Aquino administration are allegedly receiving jueteng payoffs of as much as P2 million a month. Malacañang, through Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma, urged Cruz to produce evidence, vowing a full investigation of the issue. However, Cruz said he heard this line from Malacañang before. He urged the Palace to act directly on the matter instead of depending on his group, the Krusadang Bayan Laban sa Jueteng. “Ilang beses ko na narinig yan (I have heard that line from the Palace before). Why doesn’t he (Aquino) pick it up and see where it really is?" he said. He also questioned Malacañang’s propensity for asking for evidence, likening its situation to the three monkeys who “hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil." “That is to me a very sad commentary of our government," he said. No paper trail Cruz said they only have firsthand witnesses who can give details on jueteng operations because jueteng operators do not leave paper trails. He said many of them deposit their money in rural banks, which are reportedly not too strict with documents. He claimed that these operators use aliases in maintaining their accounts. In some cases, he said they launder their money in the United States using euros. “Ang pera sa States euro, hindi dollars. Nakikita ninyo hindi ito biro-biro, ito ay malaki. Bakit wala silang alam yan ang kataka-taka...," he said. (The deposits in the States are in euros, not dollars. This is no joke. This is a big operation. Why is government so unaware of this? It almost seems its ignorance is deliberate.) Congressional probe Cruz said he is also thinking twice before testifying before a congressional investigation on the matter, saying the issue is not really a legislative matter anymore. Bayan Rep. Teodoro Casiño had reportedly offered to initiate an investigation in the House of Representatives over the matter. “Noong araw humarap na kami at sinabi namin magkano, etc, etc, walang nangyari. Pinatay pa isa naming kasama. Ang bagay na ito it is not for legislative purposes, it is for the executive department to thresh this out. Up to now wala kaming decision but who knows?" Cruz said in a separate interview on dzXL radio. (We already bared what we knew before Congress. Nothing happened. One of our witnesses was even killed. At this time, the matter is not in the legislative’s hands, it is for the executive department to thresh this out. But who knows?) Little clues While Cruz declined to name the officials receiving jueteng payoffs, he provided more clues about them. He said the two are male, with one of them having served in government for a “long time," while the other was relatively new. Both do not occupy Cabinet positions, he said. Death threats Cruz said he has been receiving “creative" death threats. One was sent through regular mail, and contained a message in big bold letters: “SHUT UP!" Another contained a black ribbon, while still another contained dried leaves that signified death. Still another was delivered via courier service. “Creative din sila ... Di ako natutuwa at hwag sabihing ako matapang, I take it with a grain of salt. Pag ikaw binabantaan ibig sabihin di ka papatayin," Cruz said. (They are very creative. I am not happy or brave about it but I take these with a grain of salt. Usually if you get death threats, it means the sender does not mean to kill you yet.) –VVP, GMANews.TV