Authorities seized an estimated P15-million worth of shabu from a man during
a buy-bust operation in Cebu City early Tuesday. Operatives from the City Intelligence Branch and the Cebu City Police AntiIllegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (CAIDSOTF) nabbed Melchor Ocarol around 2 a.m. Ocarol, from Sitio Mahayay Uno in Barangay Pasil, is identified as a level 2 high value target of the police. Police seized 1.2 kilos of suspected shabu from Ocarol. Authorities have yet to identify the suspect's source of illegal drugs. For his part, Ocarol said he accepts money from certain individuals to deliver things to their homes and use this to pay for his monthly health maintenance. He, however, was shocked when police found large packs of suspected shabu wrapped in plastic around his house. Senior Inspector Narrolf Tan of the CAIDSOTF said Ocarol has been identified by arrested drug pushers as one of their illegal drugs sources. Meanwhile, six other people were nabbed in separate operations in LapuLapu City and Cebu City last night. The Gun-ob Police Station of the Lapu-Lapu Police Office caught three suspected drug pushers identified as Edcel Nasdes, Michael Alcordo and Gene Lapa. Confiscated from them were packs of suspected shabu worth P100,000 and a .38 caliber revolver. The Mabolo Police Station of the Cebu City Police Office also caught three suspected drug pushers who operated inside a Chinese cemetery. They were identified as Dary Fernandez, Marlon Montano and Celsa Balu
Duterte eyes removal of 'ridiculous'
tax exemptions DAVAO CITY - President Rodrigo Duterte will remove "ridiculous" tax exemptions as he moves to reform the system to spur economic growth while lessening the burden of the poor, the head of his economic team said Tuesday. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez cited value added tax exemptions for girl and boy scouts. He had earlier said some exemptions for seniors, including travel and restaurant meals, will be lifted. The economic team will "remove and rationalize all the exemptions that have accumulated since 1997" when the VAT was imposed, Dominguez told a consultative forum with businessmen here. "It seems every interest group has managed to get an exemption from VAT, including the boy scouts and the girl scouts. It got to that ridiculous extent we're moving to have legislation change that," he said. Duterte is seeking new taxes and the lifting of certain exemptions to offset a planned reduction in corporate and personal income tax rates to 25 percent from 32 percent. The new measures include taxes petroleum and soft drinks and other sweetened beverages. The lifting of tax exemptions on 13th month pay was also proposed.