At the risk of being tagged as a coddler of illegal gamblers, City Mayor Dan Neri Lim, yesterday threw his all-out support to an embattled political ally who was arrested for illegal gambling. In an interview yesterday during his weekly radio program over Station DYTR Ang Mayor sa Dakbayan, Mayor Lim set aside all political cautions to the wind to stand behind Manolo Blanco, Mansasa barangay captain. The village head was a suspected swertres financier. Man enough to consider Blanco as a close friend, Mayor Lim said no matter what the cost in political terms” he can not be faulted for being bias to a friend”. It was public knowledge that Mayor Lim saw differently the impact of swertres to people's lives saying that it has become part of their daily existence to hope against hope that one day they will be showered with the manna of the illegal numbers game.
He was vocal of his belief that for as long as the legal lotto draws are operated with impunity by the government, the lure of engaging in guerilla tactics like swertres, with bettors on one hand, and financiers on the other, is already part of the equation. “Eliminate lotto, and swertres will follow suit”, is a typical Lim repartee when asked to react on the proliferation of the illegal numbers racket in this city. When news of Blanco's arrest broke out, Lim lost no time in telling the public that “he would not abandon a friend who is in trouble”. As if saying that a friend in need was a friend indeed, Lim said he was providing Blanco a lawyer to help him wiggle out from his legal predicament. The lawyer provided by Lim is Cebu-based. Lawyer Darryll Amante immediately swung into action to provide the needed legal cover of his client. Asked to comment Blanco's arrest, Amante said it was irregular in the first place because there was no justification why the requesting party has to seek a Cebu judge to issue the search warrant. THE RAID
A joint posse of policemen from the local police command under Senior Supt. Edgardo Ingking and the Regional Intelligence Division under Police Supt. Melvin Ramon Buenafe swooped down on the Blanco residence along V.P. Inting Avenue Friday morning to carry out the raid. Supt.Buenafe was team leader assisted by Supt. Ingking and his men. The raid became possible on the strength of a search warrant issued by Regional Trial Court Presiding Judge Sylvia Aguirre Paderanga. Blanco's lawyer questioned the regularity of the raid saying that it was not according to normal procedure. He said he will file a motion to squash the search warrant on Monday for failure of the raiding party to cite the justification why it has to be a Cebu judge who would issue the warrant. Seized during the raid at Blanco's residence were cash amounting to P586,715,00; three pieces plastic chairs; one plastic table; one Casio brand calculator; one Joy stapler; two units Nokia cell phone; 20 pieces tip sheets for swertres; 10 pieces ball pen; and one unit Honda Motorcycle.
The subject of the search warrant, Blanco, was placed under arrest for violation of Section 5 of Republic Act No.9287 or the Comprehensive Anti-Gambling Law. One runner, who was at Blanco's residence during the raid and identified as Arnel Olaer Pablo, 32, married and a resident of Matig-a St. , this city was also arrested. He was also placed under arrest for having in his possession 45 pieces of swertres tip sheets; three pcs. tally sheets; and cash money believed to be proceeds of the illegal numbers game amounting to P55.00. According to Supt. Ingking, Blanco was arrested in relation to PNP Oplan Roullete and the Bohol PNP Command's “Walay Swertres”. He said the raid was aimed to deliver a chilling message to other financiers that nobody was untouchable in the current drive to stamp out illegal gambling. As a result of the swertres raid, operations slowed down a bit but just the same the same guerilla tactics employed by operators were still in full swing albeit in clandestine fashion.
The provincial PNP director said the raid was not meant to single out those who are involved in illegal gambling. He said the local police command is focusing on at least three illegal activities believed rampant in Bohol . He mentioned that aside from going over illegal gambling lords, the local police are also in the thick of cracking the whip on illegal drug dealers and gun smugglers. In the Order of Battle of the local PNP, Blanco is considered “big-time” operator, according to Col. Ingking. The take in Friday's raid according to police figures only represented the day's bets on the 2:00 PM and 5:00 pm daily draws. In their police records, Col. Ingking said that Bohol has a total of 27 financiers, engaged in small-time and big-time swertres operations. The PNP director gave a modest estimate of P500,000 daily proceeds of the racket but other sources indicated that it could be more and possibly in the millions of pesos daily. Since the warrant was issued in Cebu , it was routinary for the subject to be presented to the issuing judge. Blanco's lawyers protested to block his shipment to Cebu but they were prevailed upon by the arresting officers that it was standard operating procedure. Blanco posted bail for his temporary release. He was at his residence when the raid was carried out.
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