The proposal to legalize jai-alai in Bacolod City should be studied further before it pushes through, Police Regional Office 6 Director Chief Supt. Cepriano Querol said yesterday.
Bacolod City councilor El Cid Familliaran recently proposed a resolution urging Mayor Evelio Leonardia to have the city government get a jai-alai franchise for its possible operation as the city’s economic enterprise, if the activity cannot be stopped and continues to operate illegally. Aside from the benefits the city would derive from the legal operation of jai-alai, Familiaran said in the resolution, the 61 barangays will have a 10 percent share or about P98,360 every month or a total of P1.1 million a year, finally addressing and stopping illegal operations of jai-alai in their respective barangays. Last month, Querol said he has not received any document that would justify the operation of jai-alai betting stations in Negros Occidental and will personally look into the existence of those in Esclante City and Calatrava town. Querol stressed that there should be consultations from various sectors of society, including the police. He said that it should clarify who will be the beneficiaries if jai-alai operations will be legalized in Bacolod. Querol also admitted that the police are having a hard time locating for jai-alai financiers. “It’s hard to pinpoint them because some are into guerilla operations and we also have no list of their names”, Querol said. Despite that, Querol said, their campaign against jai alai and other forms of illegal gambling in the region has been successful and is above average. “Police chiefs are active in the campaign because of the one-strike policy and we receive daily apprehension reports”, he said.*APN BY ADRIAN NEMES III Visayan Daily Star
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