NEWS BRIEFS

AUSTRALIAN SUSPECT WANTS TO POST BAIL

THE Australian national who was arrested for keeping four girls at his home in barangay Inayagan, Naga City, wants to get out of jail pending resolution of the charges against him in court.

His lawyers Jarred and Cherry Cabilte believed the prosecution has weak evidence against their client.

Regional Trial Court Judge Manuel Patalinghug of Branch 22 has yet to rule on the motion to allow the accused to post bail.

The Australian faces charges of qualified trafficking and seven counts of child abuse.

The special law’s confidentiality provisions ban the identification of both the victims and the accused in the media.

The Australian national was arrested by policemen last July 20.

Four girls, aged 14 and 15, were rescued and placed under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

In his counter-affidavit, the accused denied the allegations.

He said the girls, whom he hired to clean and maintain his home, can freely move in and out of the house. Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol

HOUSING LOANS FOR EMPLOYEES

THE Local Housing Board (LHB) authorized Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to use a city-owned property in barangay Kamagayan as collateral for housing loans by City Hall employees with the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-Ibig.

Councilor Alvin Dizon endorsed a copy of the Sept. 5 housing board resolution for the loan.

The City Council referred the housing board resolution to its housing committee for review and comment.

Rama included a P100-million appropriation to fund a housing project for City Hall’s employees in the P10.8-billion budget he proposed for next year.

The Citicenter complex is being considered as collateral for the housing loans.

Pag-Ibig offers group housing loans to local government units. Correspondent Edison delos Angeles