Metro Briefs: July 4, 2019

MANILA, Philippines — Another barangay in Navotas was declared drug-cleared—the fifth in the city — by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Monday.

Barangay Tanza I, which is primarily a resettlement area for city residents,  joined other villages like Tanza II, Navotas East, North Bay Boulevard South and San Rafael on PDEA’s list of drug-cleared barangay in Navotas.

During the flag-raising ceremony in Barangay Tanza I, Mayor Toby Tiangco urged residents to strengthen the drive against illegal drugs until all of the city’s 18 villages were free of drugs.

“We will not tolerate any wrongdoing,” he said in a statement on his first working day.

According to the Department of the Interior and Local Government, a barangay will be declared drug-cleared if it meets the following criteria: lack of drug dens, pusher, user and supply of illegal drugs; absence of a drug laboratory; the conduct of an information drive on the effects of illegal drugs and the setting up of a rehabilitation processing desk. —Nikka G. Valenzuela

San Juan’s next landmark: P198-M, 6-story one-stop shop

MANILA, Philippines — San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora’s first big-ticket infrastructure project will be a P198-million, six-story government center in Barangay St. Joseph, with the groundbreaking to be held within the first 100 days of his term.

The center, which will be located across the palatial city hall, is envisioned as a one-stop shop for residents who need to transact business with national or local government agencies.

“Right now, if you need the Land Transportation Office, you need to go to another area. If you have to go to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, it’s another area,” Zamora said on Tuesday. “So we want to have a one-stop shop, and since it’s just across city hall, it’s very near.”

He was noncommittal when asked if he would forge ahead with the infrastructure projects left unfinished by former Mayor Guia Gomez.

These included the proposed construction of a second public high school and medium-rise housing units as well as the renovation of the Hall of Justice and San Juan Medical Center.

“I want to see of course the accomplishment reports of these projects,” Zamora said. “It’s not just simply turning it over and saying, ‘Finish this.’”

According to him, he wanted to study whether there was still funding for these projects, how much had already been spent and how much of the projects had been completed. —Matthew Reysio-Cruz and Maxine Sta. Cruz