Sorsogon City - A week after an order was issued by the in-coming regional director of the Philippine National Police in the Bicol region to stop all forms of illegal gambling especially jueteng, the illegal numbers games was still very much in operation and operators had even gained more territories.

        Supt. Eliciar Bron, chief of the Bicol police-community relations office, said the order was issued by Senior Supt. Balligi Agnanayon Tira, acting police regional director, to all provincial directors to immediately put a stop to the jueteng operations in the region effective April 19.

        Bron said the order was relayed right after Tira assumed office last April 12 but sources said jueteng was still rampant in all Bicol provinces, the latest to start operation was Sorsogon which was being ran by Leony Lim.

        He confirmed that the illegal game was also in operation in the province of Albay but that this was also covered by the order of Tira.

        “The order covered even tupada and other forms of illegal gambling,” he told Bicol Mail in a mobile phone interview.

        A police source said the operation  had the “blessings” of top police officials who receive payola of P200,000 up to P2 million per month depending on the rank held by the official, both in national and local levels.

        But a henchman of Lim said they were just giving half of the payola since operations had just re-started in most areas.