Two ‘hantak’ gamblers caught in Pinamungajan

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Two men were arrested after they were caught engaging in an illegal toss-coin game of heads and tails or “hantak” on Saturday, August 1, 2020 in an interior portion of Barangay Tajao, Pinamungajan, Cebu.

Victor Cabrera, 29, of Barangay Tajao, and Junry Bucao, 31, of Barangay Cabitoonan, Toledo City, were caught by Pinamungajan police during the hantak raid, said Police Corporal Michael Vincent Balicoco of the Pinamungajan Police Station.

The arrests happened a day after Compostela town policemen arrested four men, who were playing mahjong outside their residences.

Read more: 2 senior citizens, 2 others nabbed for playing mahjong

Balicoco said that they went to the area at 1:40 p.m. that day after receiving a report of people engaging in hantak there.

He said there were at least a dozen people engaging in hantak when they arrived.

They however only managed to arrest Cabrera and Bucao, while the other illegal gamblers escaped.

He also said that they were still questioning the two suspects so that they could identify the others who escaped.

Balicoco said that the two suspects told them that they wanted to do something to entertain themselves because of the movement restrictions brought about by the health crisis.

“Gusto ra kuno sila mag lingaw-lingaw unya nagka sabot nga mga tapok-tapok (They said they only wanted to have some fun and decided to get together.),” said Balicoco.

With the arrests, Balicoco said he is encouraging the public to stop violating the rules as one way or another, they would eventually be put in jail once they are caught.

“May pa undangon nila kay kung masakpan ma priso man gyud (They should stop because if they get caught, they would land in jail),” said Balicoco.

The two suspects were detained at the Pinamungajan Police Station detention cell pending the filing of illegal gambling against them.