Metro Briefs: Sept. 4, 2019

Rookie cop caught selling drugs in Muntinlupa City

MANILA, Philippines — Another rookie policeman was caught by his colleagues selling illegal drugs in Muntinlupa City on Tuesday.

Patrolman Leo Valdez was arrested after he sold a sachet of crystal meth (shabu) worth P1,000 to an undercover agent during a police buy-bust operation around 2 a.m. at the Marquez Compound in Barangay Putatan.

Three more sachets of shabu was seized from Valdez. The operation was hatched based on verified intelligence that Valdez was involved in drug pushing in his community.

He was recently monitored and caught on video sniffing shabu on two occasions.

Police said Valdez joined the police service in 2007, but went on leave for seven years due to alleged drug use.

Valdez was detained at Camp Crame, Quezon City, where he would be charged with drug pushing. A separate administrative case would be filed against him. —Dexter Cabalza

Landbank to fund sewerage treatment plants in Manila

MANILA, Philippines — Manila-based establishments that need funds to construct sewerage treatment plants (STP) — a requirement for the Manila Bay rehabilitation — can apply for a loan.

Land Bank of the Philippines and the City of Manila on Tuesday signed a memorandum of agreement to provide financing to establishments polluting Manila Bay.

The program is formally called Solutions in Terminating Pollution for Manila Bay.

Administrative Order No. 16 requires government facilities, condominiums, hotels, commercial spaces, sports and recreational facilities, hospitals, markets to connect to existing water treatment plants or build their own individual STPs.

“Through this partnership, business establishments and firms that have yet to comply and manage their waste water that leads to Manila Bay may be guided in finding the best technology to clean their waste, thereby transforming them to be a part of the solution for Manila Bay,” said Landbank executive vice president Julio Climaco Jr. —Nikka G. Valenzuela