San Nicolas Station cops go after illegal gambling

Eleven video karera and 31 moli-moli machines were confiscated by San Nicolas Station police operatives less than 12 hours after Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña scored them for failing to curb illegal gambling, and suspended their monthly allowances from the city. (CDN FILE PHOTO)

Less than 12 hours after Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña announced the suspension of city allowances for cops assigned to the San Nicolas Police Station for failing to curb illegal gambling, police assigned in that precinct pounced on illegal gamblers in a string of operations seemingly meant to prove that they were worth each penny of the city.

Within hours after Osmeña told reporters, “When there’s too much gambling, I’m always sure there’s police protection,” San Nicolas operatives swooped down on gambling dens in Barangays Pasil and Suba at past 8 p.m. on Tuesday and confiscated a total of 42 video karera and moli-moli gambling machines.

Eleven persons caught gambling will be facing charges for violating Presidential Decree 1602 or the Philippine Gambling Law.

Police said suspects will also be charged for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 after several packs of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) were reportedly seized from them.

In a statement on Tuesday, the mayor announced that he had decided to suspend giving the P4,000 allowances to all 52 San Nicolas or Police Station 6 officers led by Chief Insp. Keith Andaya and the four nonuniformed personnel or staff members of the police station.

Osmeña said he wanted “everybody (in that precinct)” changed; and for Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) director Senior Supt. Joel Doria to assign a new team to supervise the station which has jurisdiction over Barangays Pasil, Suba, San Nicolas Proper, Pahina San Nicolas, Sawang Calero and Calamba.

Only then could the allowances be reinstated, Osmeña said.

Sought for comment, Doria said that he had long acted on the mayor’s request weeks ago and reshuffled a number of cops in the city including some from San Nicolas.

“We need to rotate them,” he said.

The rotation, however, excluded police station chiefs because such action would have to be referred to the Oversight Committee on Illegal Drugs managed by the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), said Doria.

The police chief, however, assured that CCPO continues to monitor the performance of all policemen in the city.

Over at the regional police headquarters, Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), prodded all policemen to do their jobs well with or without an allowance from the local government units.

“The grant of allowances is a matter of privilege. If you lose it, keep working. Don’t be affected. If you stop doing your job simply because you no longer have any allowance, that is not right,” he said in an interview.

Taliño said that as mayor of Cebu City, Osmeña had the discretion to either grant or withdraw allowances given to the police.

“Of course, that (allowance) has been a big help to our policemen. But if the mayor decides to take it, then he can do that,” said Taliño as he reminded policemen to also do their best in operating against illegal gambling in their respective areas even though the all-out war on drugs was on top of police priority.

Meanwhile, Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, chairman of the Cebu City Police Advisory Council for Police Transformation and Development, a multi-sectoral organization formed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) to assist them, said that the group intended to collaborate with members of different sectors who are more than willing but just do not know how to help the police organization.