Metro Briefs: July 3, 2019

Teen drowns in swollen Valenzuela City river

MANILA, Philippines — A 13-year-old boy drowned in the Polo River in Valenzuela City on Monday morning.

A closed-circuit television camera captured Jedrick Cajipe in Barangay Arkong Bato although he was spotted afterward by a resident swimming in the river near Planters Avenue.

When the boy disappeared beneath the waters, the witness called for help.

The victim’s body was retrieved in the afternoon.

Valenzuela Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office dispatch officer Migs Cristobal said that the water level in the river was high at that time due to heavy rains.

He added that although there was no current, the boy got entangled in a fishing net and drowned. —Nikka G. Valenzuela

QC officials eye ban on single-use plastics

MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and Vice Mayor Gian Sotto are eyeing a ban on single-use plastics as the first law to be passed under their administration.

“Single-use plastic straws take 500 years to decompose in a landfill, so we should shift to paper or metal straws,” Belmonte said on Monday.

Other proposals that were being eyed included practicing proper waste disposal and segregation, reducing dependence on cars powered by fossil fuels, and engaging in urban farming in school backyards without the use of chemical fertilizers.

“These simple things can help the future generation which hopefully won’t experience drastic weather changes like what we have now,” Belmonte said. —Mariejo S. Ramos

Cops seize over P500K worth of ‘shabu’ from 5 suspects

MANILA, Philippines — Five drug suspects yielded more than P500,000 worth of “shabu” (crystal meth) in a buy-bust operation in Quezon City on Monday.

A report from Brig. Gen. Joselito Esquivel, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director, said that antidrug operatives from the Batasan police station also arrested Rosalyn Bagtas, Ephraine Saraza, Emmanuel Saraza, Atanacious Sta. Cruz and Gerson Sanchez on Sitio Bathala Seminary Road in Barangay Bahay Toro around 10:45 p.m.

Seized from them were 12 sachets of shabu weighing around 80 grams with an estimated street value of P544,000, a black Nissan Patrol with license plate XFZ217 and  P31,500 in cash.

The drugs were turned over to the QCPD Crime Laboratory while the suspects were charged with violating Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. —Mariejo S. Ramos

Floriography exhibit to run from July 20 to Aug. 3

MANILA, Philippines — “Floriography, the silent language of flowers,” an art exhibit by Dr. Bernadette Escalona, will run from July 20 to Aug. 3 at the Gateway Gallery in Cubao, Quezon City.

The exhibit aims to illustrate the deep connection between flowers and women’s emotions.

Escalona, who regards flowers as having symbolic properties that balance people’s emotions, has taught art in different schools in the Philippines, Asia and the United States.