you bet

For decades, the government has been trying its very best, employing all possible means and exerting all imaginable efforts to wipe out illegal gambling across the Philippines.

I can see you raise eyebrows.

Even I.

Being at the base of the society, I get to see what social problems really thrive in the household setting. The masses are where the real picture should be captured. It may be ugly for some, but at least it is real.

Most children would opt to stay home and excavate landmines in search of bakal,bote,yero. Most women are violated in one way or another, usually in the way they think they are not.

And most importantly, it is where all that is illegal comes most pervasive.

Papa is such an avid jueteng patron. He bets on the game three times a day and spends maximum of 20pesos on each bet. Not to mention there are two kubradors (collectors) to whom he places his bet.

If you bring that to a total, that’s almost 120pesos a day. Almost half of what he earns as a construction worker. Good thing he doesn’t spend that much when he is away for work.

The amount could have paid my siblings’ fare to school, back and forth, three times. But he reasons out it’s one of the few things he actually rewards himself with, besides alcohol and smoke. My papa is the authority at home. You do as he says.

But we came to accept his vice (or leisure) in the long run.

He loses most of the time. Sometimes, he gets to guess the other of the winning pair. Sometimes, almost there, so close.

While the lottery has a six number combination, jueteng is easier with only two. Any two combinations under the sun from 1 to 38. Interestingly, all the numbers in the series have meanings. The number 18 stands for a lady, of course; 3 is attributed to a butterfly; 32 is for being crazy (like being born out of the calendar) and 33 stands for Jesus (claiming Jesus died at that age).

Papa would often use our birth dates on his bet. Sometimes, the year, the date, the age, anything that makes sense. Sometimes it’s random.

There are also instances when they let a child pick which number on the calendar will win. Assuming the child will be a lucky charm. Poor child, he gambles at an early age without him knowing.

Easy money, it sounds. But not really. I used to suspect why there are too few who would win the raffle for the day. Are they manipulating the results to their advantage? There should be a regulation panel to check.

And then I slapped myself and say, “Hey, it’s illegal. You can’t expect it to be clean or fair. It has been illegal from the very start!”

Silly me.

There are the sad times and there are the good.

Once in a while, papa wins. Usually, the number combination would be my birthday. I’m such a lucky creature, you know. There will be feast at home. Those who wouldn’t mind you on regular days will come and pretend you’re close enough just to realize their just gonna ask for balato. People!

And they will drink like there’s no tomorrow.

What’s good about it is that we get to eat as if it’s Christmas.

But easy money is also lost easy. It slips out of your hands that quick.

Life is a game. Indeed, you won’t win unless you play. And when you play, you should be prepared to lose.

Thinking about it, even when papa wins once in a while, he is still a loser. If you count all the bets he had put since day one, the amount could have made a luxury house for us, or a car. The small amount he gets when he wins is too little compared to his investment.

The classic joke would be, nobody becomes rich because of jueteng.

I say not.

And I need not name them. They should know who they are.

You bet.