BAGUIO CITY – Concerned barangay officials lashed out at the leadership of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) and the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) for allegedly playing favorites in the operation of bingo-cum-drop ball outlets in the different parts of the city.
Sources, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, claimed some barangay officials who are allegedly in cahoots with some police officials continue to create intrigues against some bingo-cum-drop ball dens that led to the closure of the den along Magsaysay Avenue.
“We are wondering why the Magsaysay den was closed when in fact, there are other similarl outlets in Kayang, Slaughterhouse Compound, Otek, and other places,” the sources stressed.
The concerned sources claimed the Magsaysay Avenue outlet was targeted for closure since it started operation because an operator named Toyoy is allegedly interested to takeover.
According to them, Toyoy is allegedly the anointed operator of a BCPO official who just assumed office three months ago and this police official wants his anointed operator to take over the operation of the Magsaysay Avenue outlet with the alleged blessings of the ABC leadership as payback for whatever good deeds he had done to him since he was a junior officer.
The sources challenged ABC, police and city officials that to be fair to everyone they must close bingo-cum-drop ball outlets all over the city because they are just fooling themselves by using barangay resolutions to cover-up illegal gambling activities done inside the outlets.
Bingo outlets were established in barangays under the Bingo sa Barangay concept to allow barangays to raise funds for their projects.
In the case of the Kagitingan outlet that remains to be closed, Toyoy wants to allegedly takeover the operation even if he is not preferred by the barangay council and the owner of the property where the bingo is located.
The sources disclosed the Kayang joint which is right beside the BCPO headquarters is allegedly not remitting the share of the barangay for hosting the said outlet contrary to the primary purpose of the Bingo sa Barangay which is to raise funds for barangay initiated projects while the Magsaysay Avenue and Kagitingan outlets had been religiously remitting to the beneficiary barangays their prescribed shares.
The sources claim the police cannot stop corruption within their ranks as their supposed leader is the one coddling illegal gambling operators and even allegedly using the BCPO intelligence office to do the ‘dirty work’ for his personal interest.
The sources challenged ABC, city and police officials who had been directly benefitting from the operation of the bingo-cum-drop ball outlets to ‘moderate their greed’ or else they will be constrained to expose those who had been receiving payola from previous operations for the people to know and understand why illegal gambling remains rampant in the city.
By HENT
