Bishop Urges Aquino to Stop Jueteng

MANILA, June 11, 2010- A Catholic bishop called on the incoming administration to be active in the campaign to eliminate "all unlawful gambling," especially jueteng.

Bangued Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian said president-elect Benigno Aquino III should also turn his attention to the illegal numbers game and to jueteng lords who remain untouchable.

"It will be a miracle (if Aquino could stop jueteng) but we are hoping he could do something about it," Jaucian said.

The bishop said jueteng has been a problem that past administrations have failed to totally eradicate.

He said the Aquino administration should immediately work on real change in governance.

Anti-gambling crusader and retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz said jueteng has been active in the country, partly because of the "support of Malacañang," which the government denied.

Like Cruz, Bishop Jaucian believe that gambling, whether legal or not, are all the same because they all exploit the poor and enrich its operators. (Roy Lagarde/CBCPNews)