STARTING Monday, regular white taxis will be allowed to pick up passengers from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia). Newly installed Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Ed Monreal said the move aims to offer more rides for around 50,000 daily arrivals at Naia. Last year, MIAA allowed unaccredited or regular taxis to pick up passengers during peak hours to augment the inadequate number of accredited taxis and other vehicles for hire at the airport, which then totaled about 1,600. But Monreal said the entry of regular taxis would still be managed based on the space available on the designated lanes per terminal to avoid congestion. For security, dispatchers will be posted to record the driver’s name, license plate number, and the taxi operator’s name, as well as the time and date when the taxi was hired. Jeannette I. Andrade
Ex-cop 19th suspect killed by QCPD since July 1
A FORMER policeman was shot dead early Friday morning after he allegedly fired at the lawmen who responded to a report of an ongoing drug transaction in Quezon City. The death of former PO3 Pelito Obligacion, who was dismissed from the service in March last year, brought to 19, the number of drug suspects said to have resisted arrest and killed by members of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) since July 1. The district director, Senior Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, said the QCPD-Talipapa station received a call about the transaction in Barangay Pasong Tamo, Tandang Sora. Responding officers then found Obligacion on a motorbike with an unidentified companion in the area. When they introduced themselves as policemen, Obligacion allegedly drew his gun and fired at the team, triggering an exchange that ended in his death. Obligacion’s companion managed to flee on foot. Eleazar said three sachets believed to contain “shabu” were recovered from the suspect’s body while his motorcycle’s compartment yielded two ID pictures of him wearing his police uniform. Obligacion’s records showed that he entered the service in 1998 and was first assigned to the National Capital Region Police Office, and then to QCPD-Talipapa in 2008. He was under the Marikina police’s Barangka station when he went absent without official leave in March last year. According to Eleazar, Obligacion was also linked to gun running and was implicated in the murder of two Caloocan policemen in 2013. Jovic Yee
2 men in Taguig add to drug toll
TWO MEN in Taguig City, one shot by the police and the other by unidentified gunmen, added to the growing list of drug suspects slain under the Duterte administration. Around 2 p.m. on Thursday, officers implementing Oplan Tokhang, the police campaign that encourages drug users to surrender, shot and killed 27-year-old Dernly Batalan after he allegedly pulled a .45-cal. pistol and fired at them when they saw him at home on Bula Street Extension, Western Bicutan. The police team, led by Insp. Jonathan Arribe, found four sachets of “shabu,” drug paraphernalia and an improvised gun (sumpak) at Batalan’s house, according to the city police chief, Senior Supt. Allen Ocden. Batalan was jailed last year on robbery charges but managed to post bail, and “his own mother admitted that he’s was a drug dealer,” Ocden said on Friday. Meanwhile, a man was found in a vacant lot in Barangay Ligid-Tipas around 4:30 a.m. on Friday. The victim was identified as Rommel “Aweng” Labios, whose corpse bore a sign saying he was “robber, pusher and rapist.” Ocden said that based on their investigation, Labios was also a suspected drug dealer who operated in Taguig and neighboring Pateros. Annelle Tayao-Juego
Lord’s Flock seminar July 16-17
JOIN the Spirit Empowerment Seminar of The Lord’s Flock Catholic Charismatic Ministry on July 16 to 17, 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., at No. 5 Catanduanes St., near the corner of West and Del Monte avenues, Quezon City. The event is open to people of all ages and admission is free.