Ex-village chief, three others nabbed for playing tong-its

By Jennifer P. Rendon

The game of tong-its sent four persons, including a former village chief, to prison.

Maricon Sumpio, former barangay captain of Alalasan, Lapuz, Iloilo, was arrested evening of Jan. 5 for alleged violation of anti-illegal gambling laws.

She was collared along with Wilfredo Bonites, Rudy Gordonas, and Rodencio Ado.

Members of Iloilo City Mobile Force Company (ICMFC) arrested the four after they “were caught in the act of wagering illegal card games,” the report stated.

Police seized P2,760 cash, a set of playing cards, a wooden table, and three plastic chairs.

Sumpio, however, questioned the arrest claiming that they were inside the house of a relative since the occupants were either senior citizens or persons with disabilities (PWDs).

She claimed that other residents were playing cards but the police appeared to have turned a blind eye to them.

But the police claimed that they had arrested the suspects through plain view doctrine.

They were detained and would be charged with violation of Presidential Decree 1602 (Providing Stiffer Penalties on Illegal Gambling).