SPECIAL INSPECTION TEAM FOR CALOOCAN

Caloocan will establish an inter-agency inspection task force to look for
illegally operating warehouses in the city.

Chief Insp. Agapito Nacario, chief of the local fire department, yesterday
told The Manila Times that the decision to create the special inspection
team was reached when firemen stumbled on a hidden shabu laboratory inside
a burning warehouse in Bgy. Lawang Bato, Valenzuela City. The discovery of
the illicit lab led to a raid at a warehouse in Navotas where chemicals
used in manufacturing shabu were stored.

Nacario said the proposed task force would be composed of representatives
from the mayor's office, elements from the local police and fire
department, inspectors from the city's business permits, health,
engineering, and building departments, and barangay officials. The team
would be authorized to conduct spot inspections to determine if the storage
facilities are complying with fire safety and building laws.

The Caloocan fire chief said the team would only conduct inspections upon
Mayor Reynaldo Malonzo's personal order to prevent indiscriminate
inspections and claims of harassment.

The safety inspections could be used to detect the presence of hidden shabu
labs, stolen vehicles, storage of explosives and harmful substances, and
manufacturing facilities for pirated video and audio discs, Nacario said.