NEWSBRIEFS
ZAMBOANGA CITY
Marijuana uprooted
Some P8-million worth of marijuana were uprooted in a half-a-hectare property in Barangay Gulangan in Maimbung, Sulu, on Saturday.
“It took more than three hours and a company size of Marine soldiers to uproot [the marijuana] and clear the area,” said Brig. Gen. Remigio Valdez, commander of the 3rd Marine Brigade.
Senior Superintendent Adzar Albani, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency director for Western Mindanao, said they were still trying to identify the owner of the marijuana plantation. The uprooted plants were brought to the 3rd Marine Brigade headquarters for temporary safekeeping and proper disposition. Julie S. Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao
DAVAO DEL SUR
Firearms seized
Government forces seized a cache of assorted high-powered firearms and explosives from the house of a suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leader during a raid in Malita town early morning Saturday.
Superintendent Huberto Abadia, deputy provincial police director, said the raid on the house owned by Ghalib dela Cruz in Barangay Fishing Village here by a combined team of policemen and soldiers yielded a Barret 50 cal. sniper rifle, two rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, two RPG propellers, two RPG fillers and 13 rounds of 50 cal. bullets.
“With the large number of explosives hidden inside the house, a single explosion would put so many civilian lives to danger,” Abadia said. He said the police were further verifying the suspect’s identify.
But Abadia said charges for violation of Republic Act No. 8294 or the illegal possession of firearms law was being readied against Dela Cruz, who remains in police custody. Orlando Dinoy, Inquirer Mindanao
TACLOBAN CITY
No funds for landfill
The city’s proposed sanitary landfill could not be constructed because the P400-million loan applied by the city from a banking institution had not been granted yet, said Jonathan Hijada, city environment and natural resources officer.
Part of the loan would be used to build the sanitary landfill, he added.
He said the city would need around P78 million to construct the sanitary landfill facility that would comprise a leachate collection system, a ventilation system, a waste water system and a material recovery component, among others.
The Tacloban City government has identified a 1.5-hectare area in Barangay Santo Niño, more than 13 km from the city proper, as the site for the new sanitary landfill. The city’s open dump, which the city continues to operate, is located in the same barangay. Hijada said the city collects 110 tons of waste daily.
Regina Urmeneta, Environmental Management Bureau specialist, urged the city government to intensify its waste segregation campaign to minimize waste. Joey Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas
