PNP- CIDG member gunned down in Pasig A member of the Philippine National Police Crime Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) was gunned down in a shooting incident in Pasig City Thursday night. Police identified the fatality as Manuel Melendrez III, 48, of Barangay Caniogan, Pasig. Senior Supt. Rizalito Gapas, Pasig City Police chief, said the victim was a member of PNP-CIDG and the Pasig police are still conducting an investigation to identify the suspects and their motives. “We are still reviewing and asking residents in the area if they have close-circuit television (CCTV) footage. The investigation is ongoing,” Gapas said in a mix of Filipino and English. Gapas added that they still cannot establish the description of the suspects since they still have to take the statement of the victim’s wife. Initial investigation showed that at around 11:45 p.m. on Thursday, Manuel and his wife Shirley just arrived from Pasig Market on board a black Starex van. Police said that Manuel was about to open the car door when his wife who was inside the vehicle heard successive gunshots. The wife quickly went out of the vehicle and saw her husband bloodied with gunshot wounds, police said. The victim was rushed to the Tri City Medical Center but was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician. Probers recovered from the crime scene several pieces of fired cartridge cases. (Jhon Aldrin Casinas) P13M worth of shabu seized by cops in San Juan About P13 million worth of shabu was seized by police in a condominium unit allegedly rented by a South Korean national in San Juan City Thursday night. Joint police operatives raided the condominium unit of Kim Jeong Hee. on Greenhills Connecticut Street in San Juan City at around 10:30 p.m. Police said they recovered two kilograms of shabu with an estimated street value of P13.6 million, several equipment and chemicals believed used to make shabu and bundles of cash amounting to P450,000. Eastern Police District (EPD) Director Chief Supt. Bernabe Balba said in a text message that the police was armed with a search warrant issued by Judge Danilo Cruz of Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 152. Police said the serving of search warrant was in connection with the arrest of Kim Jeong Hee Wednesday night in a series of buy-bust operations, where the suspect allegedly yielded 250 grams of suspected shabu. Prior to his arrest, police said the suspect was tailed by the authorities and they were led to a parked van in Pasig City loaded with equipment and chemicals that could allegedly produce P2.2 billion worth of shabu. On the other hand, at around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, members of the Northern Police District also arrested the suspected cohort of Kim identified as Marvin Yu where the police allegedly seized 250 grams of suspected shabu. A case for violating Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 is being prepared against the suspect. (Jhon Aldrin Casinas) Police informant shot dead by unidentified men Police Chief Insp. Aldrin Thompson said a police informant was killed by unidentified men at Barangay North Bay Boulevard North in Navotas City on Thursday morning. Police identified the victim as Domingo Panganiban, 52, businessman, resident of the area. “Nagbibigay siya ng info sa mga awtoridad tungkol sa kalakalan ng pagpasok ng droga sa North Harbour Center para ibenta sa mga trak driver at pahinante (He gives the authorities information on the trade of smuggling drugs at North Harbour Center to sell to truck drivers and porters),” Thompson said. Closed circuit television (CCTV) footage showed that Panganiban was sitting in his car parked at the roadside while his helper, identified as Romeo Almandres, 35, was unloading empty bottles of beer before the incident. Then, two men riding a motorcycle drove past and shot the victim on his head, killing him instantly. The gunmen sped off toward C4 Road, bringing along the weapons they used. Two fired cartridge cases of unknown caliber were retrieved from the crime scene. The victim’s body was brought to Eusebio Funeral Homes for autopsy examination. Investigation is ongoing. (Minka Tiangco)