MikeLigalig.com

By Bohol Chronicle

The finger-pointing as to who is receiving payoffs from illegal gambling operations is alive.
 
Responding to accusations of Tagbilaran Mayor Dan Lim that he is a “protector” of underground financiers of the illegal numbers game swertres, Police Senior Superintendent Constantino Barot Jr. challenged the city chief executive to substantiate his accusations.
 
Barot lashed back at the mayor disclosing police intelligence indicating that the mayor is the one “cuddling” swertres financiers and operators.
 
“Since I assumed as provincial police director, I have been receiving information that he (Mayor Lim) is on the protection [racket of swertres financiers],” Barot said in an interview with “Inyong Alagad” on Wednesday as he answered a questioned posed by a radio listener who relayed the allegations made by the city mayor levelled against the police chief.
 
“I challenge him to show his evidence and prove accusations that I am in fact involved in illegal gambling and other illegal activities,” Barot said in the interview.
 
The endless finger-pointing has to end, according to Barot as this only leads to public confusion and misinformation.
 
For several days now, the city mayor has been on the offensive accusing not only Barot of being on “the take” but likewise launched innuendos targeting other “ranking provincial officials” as swertres protectors.
 
According to the mayor, a swertres financier has bared that a monthly payola of P300,000 to three officials is keeping the illegal numbers game operations alive.
 
But Barot dared the mayor to “name names”, name the alleged payola recipients and the financier.
 
Barot reiterated that any form of illegal gambling cannot flourish without the “blessings” of local officials.
 
Other than Barot and unnamed Capitol officials, the mayor is also accusing the chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and chiefs of police as recipients of regular payoffs from underground financiers.
 
Barot had said that ever since the police have been making arrests of swertres ushers, runners and operators, nobody from the police rank-and-file has called him up or asked him personally to spare someone who is apprehended because they are receiving payola from them.
 
The provincial PNP director added that local executives (mayors) are the ones tasked to spearhead the anti-swertres campaign.
 
“The public knows that if mayors do not allow the illegal numbers game in their area, swertres would not thrive,” Barot said.
 
Barot had admitted however that the Bohol police, since the start of his tenure as provincial director, have yet to capture the virtual “big fish” among swertres operators here in the province.
 
“It is hard to link financiers to the day-to-day operations since most of them are not directly involved in the illegal activity and are just providing the financial capital for operators and coordinators. Even if we raid homes of suspected financiers, there is probably nothing that could directly tie them up to illegal swertres,” Barot explained.

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