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Jan
17
2 more drug labs found inside Ayala Alabang
Filed Under Muntinlupa, News | Leave a Comment
From philstar.com:
By: Reinir Padua
MANILA, Philippines – A week after raiding a shabu laboratory in Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa City, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) raided two more drug laboratories in the same barangay Friday night.
Unlike in the Jan. 6 raid, wherein five Chinese were arrested in the one-hectare property on Acacia street, the two properties raided Friday were unmanned, PDEA Director General Jose Gutierrez Jr. said.
“They were no longer there,” Gutierrez said in an interview at midnight yesterday, minutes after they swooped down on the two facilities.
Last Friday’s operation was prompted by tips from residents following the raid on a one-hectare property there on Jan. 6. “There were those who called us up and even sent text messages. They were suspicious of Chinese nationals seen in those two other houses,” Gutierrez said.
The agency secured a search warrant and raided the houses at 119 Kanlaon street and at 536 Country Club Drive.
At the Kanlaon street house, agents recovered laboratory equipment, assorted chemicals and approximately three kilos of finished shabu. They seized from the house on Country Club Drive laboratory equipment, chemicals, and chemical residue. According to Gutierrez, the two facilities are medium-scale laboratories that could each produce 10 kilos of shabu per cycle, which takes two to three days.
PDEA-National Capital Region director Pedrito Magsino said in a television interview that they have the names and photos of the ones who have been renting the two houses since September last year. He said the owner of one the houses is Filipino, while the other house is owned by a Chinese.
Gutierrez said he has a “strong feeling” that the three shabu laboratories are connected, especially if the Chinese seen in the two houses were also from Hong Kong, just like the ones arrested in the Jan. 6 raid.
He said the stench from the shabu manufacturing process, though it was strong in both houses, could not be detected from the outside. “Once you open the doors, it’s only then you are greeted by the stench,” he said.
Cold medicine
Gutierrez said they also found empty packs of Novahis-D, a brand of cold medicine, in the garbage bags taken out of the two compounds. “Those collecting the garbage must have found it unusual,” he said.
He said the medicine contains ephedrine, an important chemical used in the production of shabu. The PDEA chief said while local drug lab operators just smuggle ephedrine, those running the two shabu laboratories may have extracted the ephedrine from the tablets, which are manufactured in Pakistan.
“This is very common in Thailand and Korea… But this was the first time I saw it here,” he said.
Barangay officials in hot water
Muntinlupa Mayor Aldrin San Pedro directed barangay officials of Ayala Alabang to explain why they should not be sanctioned for the three drug laboratories operating “right under their noses.”
San Pedro’s spokesman, Omar Acosta, said these officials, led by barangay chairman Alfred Burgos, may be sanctioned for being remiss in their duties. He said San Pedro, following the Jan. 6 raid, directed barangay officials to closely coordinate with the homeowners’ association to come up with measures to prevent organized crime syndicates from operating in the area.
“The mayor finds the security protocol ineffective,” Acosta said.
Burgos said the Ayala Alabang Village Association is now reviewing the processes of tenants and agents involved in leasing properties in the village. – With Perseus Echeminada
Dec
16
280 couples in Munti say “I Do” together
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A total of 280 couples were finally unified Friday, by Mayor Aldrin San Pedro at the Muntinlupa City Hall Quadrangle as part of the city’s annual Kasalang Panlungsod.
The event is a yearly undertaking that primarily legalizes the partnership of live-in couples through mass marriage.
The oldest couple who finally got to tie the knot were Arturo O. Tirona, 61 years old, and Leticia Escobillo, 58 years old.
Among this crowd was Jeffry Broñola, 18 years old, with his partner Aubrey Ann Avila, 19 years old, who were listed as the youngest couple to take vows. They led the event’s wine toast.
Mayor San Pedro emphasized the project’s cause that is to finally officiate the relationships of these couples who first resorted to living in together due to financial constraints.
Aside from the oldest and youngest couple citations, this year’s Kasalang Panlungsod recognized couples who celebrated their natal day alongside with their big day and also those who had the same birthday to whom special awards were also given.#
Aug
18
Munti dengue cases see 337% increase; Abandoned Ayala Alabang pools ruled out as source
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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED/CORRECTED)– The number of dengue cases in Muntinlupa City increased by 337% in the first half of 2011, a local health official said.
Muntinlupa City health officer Dr. Erlinda Patac said the city recorded a total of 258 cases of dengue from January to July.
Patac said this is 337% higher compared to the same period last year with 59 cases.
Patac added the city recorded 5 deaths as of August 5.
Health officials are monitoring the situation in barangays Potatan, Tunasan, Poblacion, Bayanan, Cupang, Buli and Alabang where most of the cases were recorded.
Patac called abs-cbnNEWS.com to correct a dzMM report that the city has declared a dengue outbreak. She said no such declaration has been made.
Muntinlupa Mayor Aldrin San Pedro, meanwhile, has directed hospitals to establish dengue fast-lane counters.
Residents manifesting dengue symptoms were also encouraged to undergo testing in their respective barangay centers.
In Malabon, meanwhile, cases of dengue went up by 90%, city health officer Dr. Rosauro Garcia said.
Garcia said the city recorded 491 cases of dengue in the city from January to August, higher than the same period last year with 259.
Two persons have already died there due to dengue.
Residents from barangays Longos, Potrero, Catmon, Tenejeros and Tonsuya were advised to take extra measures to avoid dengue. – Reports from Dennis Datu and Jon Ibañez
Meanwhile, the Muntinlupa City Health Office said that there are no more abandoned swimming pools inside Ayala Alabang Village that may breed dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
To help everyone avoid being hit by dengue, click on this link for tips on how to make your homes dengue-free.
Jul
4
“Anti-condom Bill” is dead — Munti Mayor
Filed Under Muntinlupa, News | Leave a Comment
By Tina G. Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
A controversial ordinance that was approved by Barangay (village) Ayala Alabang in Muntinlupa City regarding the sale and use of contraceptives will no longer be implemented, according to Mayor Aldrin San Pedro.
“[The ordinance] is dead,” San Pedro told the Inquirer in a phone interview Thursday. “It will no longer be implemented. Well, in the first place, they really cannot implement it because it was not approved by the city council.”
San Pedro added that in a recent meeting with officials of the barangay, he advised them to stop pushing the ordinance.
“The measure has been the cause of division among residents and various groups. They may already have made some revisions but city council still could not approve it because its content remains [in conflict] with the provisions of existing national laws,” the mayor explained.
“I told them maybe it’s time they finally put [it] to rest,” San Pedro said. “Besides, the issue has [dragged on for] too long.”
In February, the barangay council passed the “Protection of the Unborn Child Ordinance of 2011,” which states that a person who wants to buy contraceptives from stores in the area should first present a prescription from a doctor.
The city council, however, remanded it to the barangay level, citing some portions that may be seen as an infringement of human rights. All local ordinances must be reviewed and approved by the city council before these can be implemented.
Responding to widespread criticism to the controversial legislation, the barangay council then submitted a revised version of the measure in which it did away with the provision that expressed outright support for natural family planning methods and imposed a ban on the promotion of artificial family planning methods in its health centers. Instead, it added a provision which called for the establishment of crisis pregnancy centers.
The Inquirer tried to reach barangay chairman Alfred Xerez-Burgos Jr. for comment but a staffer said he was in a meeting. Calls or text messages to his cell phone also went unanswered.
May
16
Election Protest vs. Munti mayor withdrawn
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Former Muntinlupa mayor Jaime Fresnedi has withdrawn the election protest he filed against incumbent Mayor Aldrin San Pedro in connection with the May 11, 2010 elections.
In a manifestation filed with the First Division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Fresnedi, through his counsel Atty. George Erwin Garcia, said he is withdrawing the election protest due to “financial constraints”.
“The undersigned (Garcia) has been instructed by the protestant (Fresnedi) to withdraw the instant election protest case due to financial constraints,” according to the manifestation signed by Garcia and Fresnedi.
In addition, Fresnedi asked the Comelec First Division to release his cash deposit totaling P1.08 million (P1,081,000) which he paid the Comelec in June and October last year to cover the recount.
San Pedro defeated Fresnedi in the May 2010 elections to win his second term. San Pedro garnered 108,091 votes against Fresnedi’s 76,808 votes.
Before filing to withdraw his election protest, Fresnedi asked the Comelec to defer the revision of ballots in his case which was supposed to start last May 9.
The revision of ballots was supposed to cover 66 election precincts in Muntinlupa or 20 percent of the protest proper.
In an order dated May 5, Presiding Commissioner Rene Sarmiento of the Comelec First Division junked Fresnedi’s request, ruling that “we do not find his reason for the deferment of the recount proceedings reasonable.”
Mayor San Pedro likewise opposed the deferment of the revision of ballots.
In his comment and opposition filed with the Comelec, Mayor San Pedro said the request to defer the recount “is nothing short of dilatory with no other purpose except to cause delay to the final resolution of the protest”.
