Ex-police official defends brother in jueteng scandal

TUGUEGARAO CITY - A retired deputy director general of the Philippine National Police has denied the claims that his brother was allegedly involved in the illegal numbers game jueteng in Cagayan and Quirino provinces. “I’m not my brother’s keeper. He can always do what he wanted and should answer for it if true," retired police deputy director general Jefferson Soriano, a native of Cagayan and brother of alleged jueteng operator Danny Soriano. Danny has been tagged as one of the alleged jueteng operators in Luzon by Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz in an expose. “Idinadamay lang name ko para may effect ang kanilang impormasyon kahit wala akong kaalam-alam (They are still dragging my name so that their information will have an effect)," Soriano, also a former regional police director in Cagayan Valley, adding that he initiated a ‘relentless drive’ against jueteng during his term. Soriano said he is “willing to undergo a lie detector test under any agency. This is an old issue that I have answered when I was still in service. I have no involvement whatsoever in where my brother is allegedly involved." Cruz also tagged Isabela Rep. Napoleon Dy as an alleged jueteng operator but the latter vehemently denied links to illegal numbers game in previous interviews. "We ask Bishop Cruz to visit Isabela and see for himself that there is no jueteng in Isabela," Dy said. Meanwhile, the Cagayan valley regional police admitted that a pseudo-Small Town Lottery was having guerrilla-type operations in some areas and that the police have been running after the illegal operators. – VVP, GMANews.TV