News Briefs

MAN DIES IN FIRE AT HOME

AN elderly man died after he accidentally set his house on fire in the mountain barangay of Babag, Cebu City, yesterday.

Alfonso Lopez, 74 ,  was trying to burn a nest of wasps in the bamboo wall of his house by burning dried coconut leaves.

When he brought the burning leaves near the nest, the wall accidentally caught fire past 1 p.m.

Councilor Timoteo Gabisay said the old man tried to put out the fire while his neighbors shouted at him to leave the house.

Lopez actually went out but he returned inside to get  food for his lunch.

His  body was found lying on his stomach in a rocky area just outside the house.

His back was burned.  Gabisay said the old man may have  tripped on a rock and fell down on his face.

He said Lopez could hardly walk too.

The victim’s two sons Rizaldy and Nelson were out of the house when the fire broke out.

Firefighters were unable to reach the area as of 4 p.m. yesterday.  Gabisay said Rizaldy’s P23,000 savings were also lost in the fire. Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan

CITY MORTUARIES FOR THE POOR

BUILDING five cluster mortuaries in Cebu City will help decongest traffic in the streets, Mayor Michael Rama said.

If possible, Rama said he also wanted cremation services made available for the urban poor.

He told reporters that he wants to do away with the temporary closure of barangay roads for use in vigil wakes.

He observed that  tents used as temporary shelter in wakes encroach streets.

These are very common in barangay Pasil.

“I don’t want wakes in chapels near streets because that’s very dangerous,” the mayor said.

Rama said he wanted public  mortuaries built by the private sector and envisioned them to be  equipped with restrooms and a mini kitchen.

“The private sector often complains about the use of our streets so we will be asking them to also help address this problem.  It will be like the adopt a police station program,” the mayor said.

Rama said he will meet with  funeral parlor operators to check if they would agree to accommodate the wakes of urban poor families in their businesses. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac

REVENUE OFFICER FACES JAILTIME

AN official of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in Cebu City was convicted for  unlawfully demanding and receiving money from a client.

BIR revenue officer Jimmy Napoles was sentenced to seven years for violating Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Regional Trial Court Judge Generosa Labra of Branch 23 found sufficient evidence to convict Napoles who  denied the charges.

Napoles was arrested in an entrapment operation by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) inside a fast-food restaurant in July 4, 2011.

He was accused by Antonio Ruiz Jr. of demanding and receiving P10,000 in connection with the assessment of the zonal valuation of his property in barangay Quiot-Pardo, Cebu City.

Napoles denied receiving the grease money.

The law prohibits government officials from “directly or indirectly requesting or receiving any gift or benefit for himself or for any other person, in connection with any contract or transaction between government and any other party.” Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol