Police Involved In Horrific Gambling Massacre (Philippines)

The Philippines has long suffered from major corruption and violence problems. Back in 2009, for instance, 57 defenseless civilians including 34 journalists were massacred in a field for their support of a local politician.
Now the Southeast Asian country has plunged further depths after 13 people including lottery racket boss Vic Siman, were summarily executed by police and military personnel looking to protect Siman’s local gambling boss rival.
Originally, law enforcement officials under Superintendent Hansel Marantan, claimed the shootout occurred after a criminal gang tried to ram through a security checkpoint in a town three hours from Manila. However, when the country’s media reported local gambling boss Vic Siman and five police and military officers protecting him were amongst the dead, Philippine President Benigno Aquino felt compelled to order an investigation.
The conclusion of the 64-page Justice Department report proved shocking and currently 21 police officers and 14 military personnel have now been arrested for conspiring to eliminate Vic Siman. Commenting on the report’s findings, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, stated: “The apparent objective of the operation was to kill all the victims. The checkpoint (was set up) to kill Vic Siman and company. There was no shoot-out..Some of the victims were already slumped on the ground or were surrendering when still fired upon by operatives.”
Outside of  the country’s illegal gambling and violence culture, the Philippines has a legitimate gaming industry which  has continued to grow over the past few years. In fact, Credit Suisse recently announced that by 2018 the country’s gaming sector could outstrip that of Singapore’s currently worth $5.6 billion.
“We believe that Philippine casinos will be able to draw stronger participation from junkets—and consequently provide a more stable supply of credit to VIP clients—as lower tax rates in the country will allow for higher commissions to be paid to junket operators,” the Credit Suisse report concluded.