Gambling hoax

N. Vizcaya ‘jueteng’ takes on various disguises

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya–The illegal numbers game has taken on a new disguise here following the arrival of Bingo 2 Balls, which, bet collectors said, was meant as a supposed legal alternative to “jueteng“.

Quoting gambling operators who met with a group of “jueteng” workers on Sunday, a source said the newly-revived “Bingo 2 Balls” operation here is purportedly sanctioned by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

“They showed us documents with the name of a certain corporation as a registered entity with the PCSO. This is why we were made to believe that this is now the legalized version of jueteng,” said the source, who asked not to be named for fear of his safety.

Jobless

Cagayan folk lose ecozone jobs to Chinese aliens

SANTA ANA, Cagayan–Residents of this coastal town and nearby communities have denounced the influx of Chinese aliens here who supposedly come to work at Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport and have been depriving locals of job opportunities.

They disclosed the presence of scores of Chinese laborers, who have been working illegally at construction sites at the SunCity Holiday Leisure Resort in Barangay San Vicente here and have supposedly escaped.

“When one sees all these Chinese working here, he can’t help but feel betrayed that this is happening to our people who were promised to land even the most menial jobs once the casinos are being constructed,” said Ed Pascua, president of the church-based social action commission here.

True tests

Independent probe of pollution caused by Ceza casinos pushed

SANTA ANA, Cagayan–Local officials here are pushing for an independent investigation into the waste disposal system adopted by casinos operating within the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport here, amid speculation that regulatory agencies have been going soft on the casino operators despite their supposed violations.

Village leaders called on officials of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (Ceza) to conduct “an honest-to-goodness inspection” of sewage facilities of two casino complexes here, which have been the subject of complaints from residents over the pollution they have caused on the town’s environment.

“Our people want an honest-to-goodness monitoring, study because with the way the supposed regulatory bodies have performed lately, our people seems to have lost their trust in them,” said Genevy Rodriguez, president of this town’s organization of village officials.