Senator Lapid defends alleged jueteng lord Bong Pineda

Senator Lito Lapid on Monday defended Rodolfo "Bong" Pineda, who was earlier tagged by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago as one of the biggest alleged jueteng lords in the country. Lapid said he does not believe that Pineda is capable of orchestrating large-scale jueteng operations. "Kilala ko naman yan, mayor ko naman ang asawa niyan (I know him, his wife was my mayor)," Lapid told reporters in an interview on Monday. Both Lapid and Pineda hail from Pampanga province, also the hometown of former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Pineda is the husband of Pampanga Governor Baby Pineda, who was mayor when Lapid was governor in the same province Lapid issued the statement after Santiago, in a privilege speech last week, identified Bong Pineda as one of the main jueteng operators in five regions in the Philippines. Lapid, however, said Pineda has repeatedly been accused of being a jueteng lord but that it has never been proven. "Mahirap mag-akusa sa isang tao na lagi nalang nasasali ang pangalan niya, kawawa naman siya (It's wrong to accuse someone whose name has always been mentioned in such issues)," he said. On Chavit On the other hand, Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said he believes that Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson is a jueteng operator as alleged by Santiago. "It’s an open secret that he's connected with the illegal numbers game," he told reporters in a separate interview. He likewise expressed disbelief that Singson said he does not know how to operate jueteng. "Talaga lang, ha. Tell that to the marines. Lokohin niya ang lelong niya (Really? Tell that to the marines. He can't fool me)," he said. Singson was the one who blew the whistle on the alleged jueteng involvement of Senator Estrada's father, former President Joseph Estrada Estrada. The scandal eventually sparked an impeachment case against the former president, who was forced to step down January 20, 2001, after a series of mass street uprisings. Last week, Singson asked Santiago to resign because of her accusations. Senator Estrada, however, said Santiago does not have any reason to do this because she was just saying what she knows. Earlier in the day, Santiago claimed that she has been receiving "implied" death threats because of her jueteng expose. Estrada said this happened because the people she identified in her speech were all powerful. "With their resources, with their wealth, they can threaten anybody who are trying to expose this jueteng game," he said. He likewise alleged that Singson is also "capable" of pulling such a stunt. "May history na ‘yun eh (He has a history of that)," he said. –VVP, GMANews.TV