Theories abound, depending on whom one asks, on how the issue of jueteng, from Cruz’s initial allegations to the continuing investigations on both Houses of Congress, has ballooned to such proportions. The more popular version is that is it is about who gets to control the jueteng-STL “industry” for the next six years. While this theory also holds water, the less talked-about angle is how this “struggle” came to be and how it is bound to be fought until the next national elections.
Insiders, in hushed chatters and muffled whispers, allege that it has got something to do with the “battles from within” the Palace – Aquino’s “kingdom divided.”
Trace the history of “Balai” and “Samar,” they say, starting from the campaign period, to Aquino’s choice of appointees, to Sonny Belmonte’s Speakership of the House, to how Kiko Pangilinan lost his bid for the Senate presidency, all the way to Jesse Robredo’s token appointment as DILG Secretary in an “acting capacity” and Rico Puno’s designation as Undersecretary in-charge of “anything police,” and you shall then have solved the puzzle.