The Philippine National Police yesterday declared an all-out war against illegal gambling.
PNP chief Director General Ronald “Bato” M. dela Rosa expressed confidence that illegal gambling can be stopped in six months.
In a press conference in Camp Crame, Quezon City, Dela Rosa said that if all government agencies and the public would cooperate with one another, the operation of all forms of illegal gambling in the country can be stopped.
“The Philippine National Police will continue to hit hard on all forms of illegal gambling activities in line with Executive Order No. 13 issued by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” Dela Rosa said.
EO No. 13 directs the PNP, the National Bureau of Investigation, and other law enforcement agencies to intensify the national campaign against illegal gambling in coordination with the Department of Justice, Department of Interior and Local Government, and Department of Information and Communications Technology.
It also directs the law enforcement agencies to coordinate and promptly act on requests of gambling regulatory authorities to investigate and put a stop to illegal gambling activities in their jurisdictions.
”This new mandate of the PNP comprise a wider range of anti-illegal gambling efforts to enforce Presidential Decree 1602, prescribing stiffer penalties on illegal gambling; and Republic Act 9287, the law increasing the penalties for illegal numbers games and amending certain provisions of Presidential Decree no. 1602,” Dela Rosa said.
(Francis T. Wakefield and PNA)
