PRO-6 vows crackdown on gambling at wakes
By Jennifer P. Rendon
ILOILO CITY — Illegal gambling remains illegal even when conducted during wakes, Police Regional Office 6 Director Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said.
Tuaño stressed that the Philippine National Police operates under existing policies and guidelines.
“’Yung operations sa illegal gambling, we told our commanders that we have a policy, and that’s our Bible,” he said.
Tuaño said neither provincial nor regional police commanders could disregard the policy by deciding whom to arrest or spare.
He said unauthorized gambling at wakes should therefore be treated as illegal.
Tuaño issued the statement following the arrest of four people who were allegedly playing cara y cruz, a traditional coin-tossing game locally known as tumbo, during a wake in Leon, Iloilo, late on Oct. 10.
Police seized a cara y cruz table, three tossing coins, a wooden box with chalk, PHP 1,000 in cash, and PHP 740 in alleged bet money.
Lt. Cosmeflor Marco Jr., chief of the Leon Municipal Police Station, said the wake was on its final night when police conducted the operation.
Marco said more than 20 people fled in different directions after seeing the police officers.
Asked why police made arrests even though the game was played at a wake, Marco maintained that the activity violated Presidential Decree 1602, which prescribes penalties for illegal gambling.
The decree identifies cara y cruz among the illegal or unauthorized games involving wagers of money or other items of value.
Marco said police took similar action against illegal gambling at other wakes whenever such activities were monitored.
Police said the four suspects were detained and would face charges for alleged violations of Presidential Decree 1602.
In a February 2025 ruling involving cara y cruz, the Supreme Court stressed that arresting officers must directly witness the accused participating in the game and provide clear details of the alleged gambling operation to secure a conviction.
Meanwhile, reports alleged that some police stations focused on small-time gambling operations because their commanders could be required to explain a failure to record illegal gambling arrests in their jurisdictions.
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