CRACKDOWN ON JUETING

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Anti-gambling bishop hopes new DILG chief will crack down on jueteng GMANews.TV -

The appointment of Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo as Interior Secretary should boost the campaign against the illegal numbers game jueteng, a senior Catholic Church official said Saturday.

Retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said Robredo is “the right man" for the job because he is “competent and effective" in public service.

“Our advocacy against jueteng has valuable ally in his person and conviction. He’s a no-nonsense executive in terms of honesty and integrity," Cruz said in an article posted Saturday night on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site.

Robredo, who was officially named by President Benigno Aquino III on Friday to head the DILG, will also supervise the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

The CBCP noted Robredo won the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Government Service in 2000 and was also cited in 1999 by Asiaweek for transforming Naga City.

Robredo earlier said the Aquino administration would not tolerate the conduct of jueteng because it is illegal, and it "develops a culture of mendicancy and corruption among our constituents as well as government officials."

The underground multi-million-peso jueteng operations have for years been the major source of revenue for corrupt local politicians, the CBCP added.—JV, GMANews.TV