President Benigno S. Aquino III maintained on Monday that legalizing jueteng will never happen under his administration.
In an ambush interview after the oath taking of the members of the Truth Commission and other government officials, the President said he will not tolerate and is definitely not in favor of legalizing the numbers game.
“Gambling is not a productive venture except for the people who run it,” he said noting that there is no output in the operation of jueteng.
He urged his critics to concentrate on moving the economy forward rather than pushing for the legalization of jueteng.
The President revealed that prior to the expose of retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, he has already ordered Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo to come up with a comprehensive plan to stamp out jueteng.
The Chief Executive said he wants Robredo to include in his reports how to prevent those involved in jueteng from jumping to other illegal trades like drug trafficking, if the illegal numbers game is stamped out.
The President added that he wants Robredo to study how the government can make small town lottery (STL) more “competitive” against jueteng, which is believed to be more popular in the localities where STL was marketed as an alternative. (PCOO/PIA)
