Reports of the illegal numbers game jueteng resurfacing in some provinces in turned out to be "negative", according to Police General Oscar Albayalde.

In a press briefing, the head of the Philippine National Police ( PNP) said regional directors said no jueteng exists in their areas after the closure of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) gaming outlets following the order of President Rodrigo Duterte last Friday.

"If you are asking me if after the closure of the licensees of PCSO there are operations of jueteng, all the validation (reports) we received were negative," he said.

"So far we don't receive any reports of operation," he added.

Last Monday, Albayalde said they received intelligence information jueteng is operating in two Central Luzon province.

He said there is a chance illegal numbers will resurface because of the closure.

"We are not saying that it will happen but it's a possibility that illegal numbers game will return particularly "jueteng"," said Albayalde.

The PNP chief assured the public they will not concentrate on this operation and will be more focused on their anti-criminality operations.

But few days after his directive, Duterte lifted the suspension of lotto outlets but other PCSO games remained suspended. Ella Dionisio/DMS