Described as an "illegal numbers game" (Philippine Daily Inquirer 25 Oct. 2002) dating back to Spanish rule (ABC 19 Oct. 2000), jueting or jueteng is estimated by the Filipino police to generate some 10 to 13 billion pesos annually (Philippine Daily Inquirer 25 Oct. 2002). Alternative estimates place the revenue generated as high as 36 billion pesos a year (Trade Union Congress of the Philippines 3 Nov. 2002). (One Filipino peso equals approximately .03 Canadian dollars (Bank of Canada 8 Jan. 2003).)

Under the Presidential Decree (PD) 1602 law, arrested jueteng bet collectors can be fined between 400 and 1,000 pesos or given a prison term of two to four years (Philippine Daily Inquirer 25 Oct. 2002; Visayan Daily Star 19 Nov. 2001). Jueteng gambling operators can receive a fine of 6,000 pesos or a prison sentence of four to six years (ibid.). However, as reported in a 19 November 2001 Visayan Daily Star article, police records indicate that, after pleading guilty, most arrested gambling bet solicitors are subsequently released from jail following court orders to pay hundreds of pesos in fines (ibid.).

A February 2001 article reported that the Filipino president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, had "reaffirmed" the government's commitment to eliminate illegal gambling, particularly jueteng (Xinhua 27 Feb. 2001). Under recently established police guidelines, high ranking police officers are reportedly to be "removed from their posts if found to be ineffective in eliminating illegal gambling activities in their respective areas of responsibility" (Xinhua 27 Feb. 2001). A 5 April 2002 article reported that the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) stated that local government officials would be charged with "'dereliction of duty'" if jueteng operations were not stopped in their localities (Philippine National Inquirer 5 Apr. 2002). According to the DILG Secretary, jueteng continues in many cities and provinces in spite of a national police crackdown on the game (ibid.). The article further reported a jueteng operator as stating that mayors and local officials offer protection jueteng operators (ibid.). Accordingly, jueteng remains widespread, despite claims by the police that their efforts are succeeding (ibid.).

A March 2001 article, quoting the findings of a study undertaken by the Ateneo Center for Community Services in 2000, reported that, although government officials, police and military personnel at the community (barangay), municipal and national levels have been tasked with eliminating jueteng, "protection, 'hush' or bribe money ensures that they remain oblivious, if not covertly supportive of jueteng" (Philippine Daily Star 30 Mar. 2001). The study further states that "concerned authorities and public officials allow operations of the illegal numbers game to prosper unhindered in their own areas of responsibility" (ibid.). The study also found that, although raids on jueteng operations occur several times a year, they are only undertaken as "lip service to the national authorities, when there is a change in government officials, and when the protection money given to police and government officials is insufficient" (ibid.).

An article in the August 2002 edition of the Philippine Journalism Review stated that jueteng "flourishes under the protection of police and local officials." The Philippine's former president, Joseph Estrada, was allegedly involved in a gambling scandal involving millions of pesos in protection money from jueteng operators (WSWS 16 Dec. 2000; BBC 11 Dec. 2000; CNN 14 Dec. 2000; Xinhua 17 July 2002; ibid. 27 Feb. 27 Feb. 2001)

Although not identifying the specific town, a series of articles co-written by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and the Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD) in 1995 describes a jueteng operation in a "medium-sized municipality" in Pangasinan province (PCIJ and IPD 4 Dec. 1995; PCIJ 1995a; ibid. 1995b). According to one of the articles, which was co-written by IPD, approximately 80 per cent of the jueteng operator's monthly profits are used to finance what is described as an "elaborate, multi-tiered structure of protection" that includes protection money given to the military, the police and city officials (PCIJ and IDP 4 Dec. 1995).

A July 2002 article reported that, despite Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina's "stern warning against illegal gambling" jueteng still persists in Pangasinan (Philippine Headline News 24 July 2002). The article also reported the second district representative as stating that Pangasinan was "becoming a 'laughingstock' because local police officials seem to tolerate jueteng" (ibid.).

An August 2002 article quoted a mayor in a central Pangasinan town as having stated that he regretted the police crackdown on jueteng since the game is a "major source of social funds [for] local officials" (Philippine Daily Inquirer 11 Aug. 2002).

For information on the jueteng's operational structure as well as the involvement of local authorities, please consult the attached PCIJ report entitled, "Police and Politicians Protect Jueteng" and the 30 March 2001 Philippine Daily Inquirer article entitled "How Jueteng Works."

No information on jueteng in Lawac, Pangasinan, specifically or on violence related to jueteng, including police prosecution of those involved in the violence, could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 18 Oct. 2000. "Philippine President Faces Impeachment Over Corruption Allegations." http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/archive/2000/oct/raap-19oct2000-1.htm [Accessed 7 Jan. 2003]

Bank of Canada. 8 January 2002. Currency Converter. http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/exchform.htm [Accessed 9 Jan. 2003]

BBC News. 11 December 2000. "Estrada 'Received Bribes in Bag.'" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1065567.stm [Accessed 9 Jan. 2003]

CNN. 14 December 2000. "Estrada Denies Receiving Check from Philippine Gambling Bosses." http://www.cnn.com/2000/ASIANOW/southeast/12/14/philippines.estrada.ap/ [Accessed 9 Jan. 2003]

Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD). 4 Dec. 1995. "Illegal Gambling Has a Grassroots Base." http://www.pcij.org/stories/1995/jeuteng.html [Accessed 9 Jan. 2003]

Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. 1995a. "Police and Politicians Protect Jueteng." http://www.pcij.org/stories/1995/jeuteng2.html [Accessed 9 Jan. 2003]

_____. 1995b. "Jueteng is Embedded in Local Society and Culture." http://www.pcij.org/stories/1995/jeuteng3.html [Accessed 9 Jan. 2003]

The Philippine Daily Inquirer [Manila]. 25 October 2002. Yolanda Fuertes. "'Jueteng' Take: P13 B Yearly." http://www.inq7.net/reg/2002/oct/26/reg_1-1.htm [Accessed 7 Jan. 2003]

_____. 11 August 2002. Yolanda Fuertes. "Pangasinan Mayor Says 'Jueteng' Source of Funds." http://wwwinq7.net/reg/2002/aug/12/reg_1-1.htm [Accessed 7 Jan. 2003]

_____. 5 April 2002. "Stop Jueteng or Face Raps, Lina Warns Local Execs." http://www.inq7.net/brk/2002/apr/05/brkpol_18-1.htm [Accessed 9 Jan. 2003]

_____. 30 March 2001. "How Jueteng Works." http://www.inq7.net.nat/2001/mar/30/nbk_8-1.htm [Accessed 9 Jan. 2003]

Philippine Headline News. 24 July 2002. "Jueteng Still On in Pangasinan." http://www.newsflash.org/2002/07/h/ht002717.htm [Accessed 8 Jan. 2003]

Philippine Journalism Review (PJR). August 2002. Vol. XIII, No. 4. "National Roundup: Radio Station Guardhouse Shot At." http://www.cmfr.com.ph/pjr/2002/200208/0208roundup.html [Accessed 8 Jan. 2003]

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines. 3 November 2002. Bing Castillano. "Jueteng Corrupts Gov't Offices." http://www.tucp.org.ph/projects/solidarity/jueteng.htm [Accessed 7 Jan. 2003]

The Visayan Daily Star [Bacolod City]. 19 November 2001. Gilbert Bayoran. "Chruch Disappointed over Failure to Curb Gambling." http://www.visayanddailystar.com/2001/November/19/topstory5.htm [Accessed 7 Jan. 2003]

World Socialist Web Site (WSWS). 16 December 2000. Peter Symonds. "Evidence Mounts of Estrada's Involvement in Illegal Gambling Racket." http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/dec2000/phil-d16.shtml [Accessed 7 Jan. 2003]

Xinhua. 17 July 2002. "Key Witness Links Philippine Ex-President to Illegal Gambling." (NEXIS)

_____. 27 February 2001. "Philippine President Reaffirms Vow to Stop Illegal Gambling." (NEXIS)