By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
It’s hard to believe that the Philippine National Police (PNP) continues to stick to its story that the crime rate is down in the Marcos administration.
Ask around the neighborhood sari-sari store, the tricycle queue, or the istambay sa kanto. They might not have the numbers, but they’ll tell you what the generals won’t: street crimes are alive, bold, and sometimes, even in uniform.
Take for example illegal gambling — not only has it crawled back into our midst, the vice lords of Southern Tagalog now get to operate as if they own the region.
In Region 4-A (Cavlite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon or Calabarzon), the menu of illegal gambling is smorgasbord: jueteng, sakla, lotteng, EZ2 — you name it!
And I’ve got a name sent to me, the one allegedly collecting for the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Field Offices in Cavite and Batangas: Rico Posadas.
Suppose that doesn’t ring a bell to you, Brig. Gen. Paul Kenneth T. Lucas, regional director in Calabarzon, spies tell me it’s deafeningly familiar.
Just last month, Lucas wrapped the PRO4-A’s 2nd Command Conference for 2025 at Camp Vicente Lim in Calamba, yet they conveniently kept the discussions about election security. What’s that, sir — a cloud cover for the actual vice operations on the ground?
Because in Calabarzon, gambling dens are more predictable than patrols. The streets know it. The barangays know it. The bettors sure know it.
Gambling in Makati
Meanwhile, in Makati, two saklaan venues are running day and night.
I’d like so much for PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil — who just two weeks ago blamed social media for giving people the “impression” that crime is getting worse — to take a stroll along Reynaldo and San Antonio Streets in Barangay Pio del Pilar in Makati City.
See for yourself if the saklaan is not a stone’s throw away from Ayala Avenue — the country’s central business district. I guess if you do see it for yourself, it would stop being just an impression.
Here’s a bonus for you, Gen. Marbil: the “bangka” boys running that gambling strip are aliases “Lando,” “Ega,” “Benjo,” and “Onad.” If you act out of your airconditioned office now, you might even prevent them from opening their third shop in the city.
By the way, you might want to pay Barangay Captain Hazel Ann Lacia and the chief of police of Makati a visit. They should be given the chance to deny what my informers tell me — that these saklaan spots have their “blessing.”
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