By Mortz C. Ortigoza
BUGALLON – “Sinungaling, liar. Matila in Pangasinan, ulbod in Ilocano
(He is a liar. Matila in Pangasinan, ulbod in Ilocano,” described by this town
Vice Mayor Ric Orduna the Pangasinan’s governor to reporters.
Orduna, as he acknowledged in the past, was the illegal gambling jueteng
treasurer of Pangasinan Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr.
He said the governor had the propensity to break what he promised with
him or to his allies.
“When he asked me to run for the presidency of League of Mayors in the
Philippine-Pangasinan Chapter, I thought he would aid me when mayors need
financial help. When I told him I will be meeting them I thought he shell out
his share but I have to personally fund their entire expenses,” he
recalled when he was still in good graces of the governor.
Former Espino ally and financial supporter Abono Party List chairman
Rosendo So said the fall out between Espino and Fernando “Boy Bata” Alimagno
happened because the governor reneged to what he promised with the jueteng
operator.
So quoted Alimagno as saying, “May commitment si Governor na two percent sa
akin. Dati nakatangap kami ng sampung milyones (The governor promised me two
percent. I used to earn ten million pesos a month when we were running
jueteng).”
But the governor, according to Alimagno, breached on his promise to give
him two percent of the proceeds from the Meriadiane Jai Alai - a gambling played just like jueteng, thus he exposed him as the
jueteng lord in Pangasinan at a press conference in Manila.
Orduna and Alimagno said they and Espino operated and protected the illegal gambling number game in the 44 towns and four cities’
province.
But because the governor weaselled out both sued him with
plunder at the Ombudsman in December 14, 2012.
Before sueing Espino in Manila, Bata and Orduna were joined on that day
by then Secretary Mar Roxas of the Department of Interior & Local
Government, and several top police officials in a press conference aired on TV nationwide.
In a sworn statement submitted at the Ombudsman, Orduรฑa called Espino
the “Big Boss” of jueteng in Pangasinan who received P800 to P900 million in
jueteng money
But Alimango, who experienced economic hardship after his fall out with the
governor, filed an affidavit of desistance at the Ombudsman that made Orduna
the lone accuser of the governor on the non-bailable criminal case.
According to So he was asked by Espino to convince Boy Bata to back out
from the case against the governor in exchange of ten million pesos.
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