TARLAC, Philippines – Inaresto ng mga otoridad ang 94 indibidwal na nagsasagawa ng ilegal na online at offline na raffle draw sa Tarlac province.
Ayon kay Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) chief Police Brig. Gen. Bernard Yang, nagsagawa ang operatiba ng AGC ng isang law enforcement operation noong Hunyo 29, at naaresto ang 3 financiers at operators, 18 administrative staff, 43 head distributors, 19 distributors, at 12 agents na nag sasagawa ng online and offline raffle draws.
Ang operasyon ay isinagawa ng Police Regional Office-Central Luzon (PRO-3), Provincial Government ng Tarlac, Tarlac Provincial Health Unit, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCor), Games and Amusement Board (GAB), at Security and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Ayon kay Yang, ang preparasyon ng joint operation ay nagsimula noon pang Pebrero 2024, kung saan sa isang Facebook Page isinasagawa ang livestream ng raffle draws na pinalalabas na lehitimong event.
Ang nasabing raffle draw ay ginamitan ng tambiolo (raffle drum) system, kung saan kailangang bumili ng raffle tickets na nagkakahalaga ng P20 ang isa.
“Based on the advertisement, the grand prize is Toyota Fortuner worth P4.5 million. Second is the business package worth P1 million and then third is a 150-square-meter lot worth P1 million. Then since today is July, there was a wedding package worth P500,000 and other consolation prizes,” saad ni Yang.
Ngunit, sa pagiimbistiga ang mga nasabing papremyo ay hindi totoo at ang mga nasabing nanalo ay mga miyembro din ng grupong nagsasagawa nito.
Kinumpirma rin na raffle draw ay hindi otorisado at walang lisensya o legal na dokumento mula sa regulatory bodies, tulad ng Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), PAGCor, GAB, at SEC, at wala ring business permit mula sa Local Business Permits and Licensing Office ng provincial government of Tarlac.
“This is all about illegal online gambling through raffle. Based on our verification through cyber patrolling, this operation was already five years and every month, meron silang pa-raffle (they have raffles) in different places so it’s not just one venue that they play and they went to different places just to have this monthly raffle. And those bettors are from different provinces nearby,” sabi ni Yang.
Ang mga suspek ay haharap sa kasong violation of Presidential Decree 1620 (illegal gambling) as amended by Republic Act 9287 in relation to Section 6 of RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012). RNT/MND
