The police have filed charges against 18 “bookies” collectors for violation of Republic Act 9287, or illegal gambling, in Negros Occidental, after PBrig. Gen. Jack Wanky, Western Visayas regional police director, ordered a heightened campaign against all forms of illegal gambling.
Bookies is an illegal numbers game that uses winning numbers from small-town lottery (STL) draws of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
The 18 were arrested in separate police operations in the municipalities of Candoni, San Enrique, E. B. Magalona and Cauayan, and the cities of Escalante, Bago, La Carlota, Sipalay and Victorias in Negros Occidental.*