MetroBriefs

Swiss man dies of heart attack

A Swiss man was found dead by his wife inside their home in Muntinlupa City on Saturday. Case investigator Police Officer 2 Joseph Gonzales said that an autopsy report showed that Adolf Zgraggen, 73, died due to a heart attack. The victim was found by his wife, Jorlen, after she came home from the market on Saturday. The couple are retirees from Switzerland who have been staying in the country for the past five years.  “We explored all angles [because we] wanted to make sure that there was no foul play involved [since] we have to report the incident to his relatives in Switzerland,” Gonzales said.—Penelope P. Endozo

No rift between PAO, Aquino

All’s well between the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) and President Aquino despite a supposed rift between the agency and the country’s leader after PAO facilitated the release of several men detained at the national penitentiary for the role they played in the assassination of Aquino’s father, former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., in 1983. According to PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta, the agency’s budget for this year was raised to P1 billion to allow it to increase its paralegal assistance to inmates languishing in jails. The amount is up from the previous year’s P700 million budget for the agency. The basis for the increase, according to Acosta, was its accomplishments such as a 74 percent success rate in the cases it handled this year. “We have no problem with President Noy. He knows we are just doing our job as public defenders,” Acosta told reporters during a visit to the Quezon City Female Dormitory Monday morning. She expressed optimism that the agency would be able to improve its success rate in the cases it took on. “We have to increase it to 80 percent this year,” Acosta said. The cases included accused detainees who were acquitted, as well as prisoners who received probation or were granted executive clemency. “We will intensify our visitations, medical missions and broaden our paralegal programs for our detainees in jails,” she added.—Julie M. Aurelio

QC official: Rich should support poor

Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte has appealed for understanding in connection with the city government’s plan to hike real property taxes to fund socialized housing projects for informal settlers. Saying the rich should look after the less fortunate, Belmonte defended the measure, saying it was pro-poor and pro-development. “We are appealing to homeowners. This is good for all of us,” she said. The proposed ordinance will impose an additional tax of P500 on all real property in Quezon City with an assessed value of P100,000 or more.—Julie M. Aurelio