3 Arrested for Illegal Gambling in Ilocos Sur

SAN ILDEFONSO, ILOCOS SUR, Philippines — Three individuals were apprehended for allegedly engaging in an illegal card game in Barangay Laslasong Norte, Sta. Maria, in this province on Friday (Sept. 4), police said. Personnel of the Sta. Maria Municipal Police Station, led by Lt. Jenson Refuerzo, officer in charge, acted on an intelligence report about an ongoing gambling activity in the village. Police caught the three suspects in the act while playing “tong-its,” resulting in their arrest for alleged violation of Presidential Decree No. 1602, or the law penalizing illegal gambling. Gambling paraphernalia seized from the suspects were inventoried and marked at the scene in the presence of two barangay officials and the arrested individuals. Police said the operation was documented using two authorized recording devices in accordance with PNP rules and procedures. The suspects were brought to the Ilocos Sur District Hospital in Narvacan for medical examination. —KENNETH P. TABIN/CONTRIBUTOR