Metrobriefs

House owner overpowers thief

Three teenagers ended up in jail on Tuesday after they proved to be no match for the owner of the house they had broken into. Cedric Bryan Pino, 28, a web designer and resident of Mountainview Village in Barangay Sta. Elena, Marikina City, told the police that he was roused from sleep by a commotion and the sound of footsteps at around 4 a.m. He saw at least four men entering his house through the sliding window which he had forgotten to lock. One of the robbers saw him wake up and tried to stab him but he managed to disarm the man. Pino then locked up the robber in a room before he went after the three other men who were trying to escape. “Luckily, the barangay watchmen were outside his house, patrolling the streets. They immediately collared two suspects,” case investigator SPO2 Greco Gonzales told the Inquirer. One of robbers, however, managed to escape with the victim’s laptop. Two of the robbers were identified as Joshua Adonis, 19, a resident of Antipolo City, and Edzel Benipayo, 19, a Marikina resident. The third was a minor. Niña Calleja

TV director Ricky Rivero’s alleged attacker pleads not guilty

The man accused of stabbing a TV director in June maintained his innocence during a court hearing on Tuesday. Hans Ivan Ruiz, 22, entered separate pleas of not guilty to the charges of frustrated murder and theft lodged against him with the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 224. Ruiz was arraigned on Tuesday before Judge Marilyn Payoyo-Villordon with his alleged victim, Ricky Rivero, in attendance. Ruiz, a resident of Meycauayan, Bulacan, is accused of stabbing Rivero, a TV director and former member of “That’s Entertainment,” inside the latter’s apartment in Barangay Pinyahan on June 13 while Rivero was asleep. The victim was able to run for help while barangay watchmen arrested Ruiz who yielded Rivero’s belongings which included a backpack worth P2,000, a laptop with speakers worth P30,000 and a cell phone  worth P13,700. Julie M. Aurelio

Centrist democrats undergo leadership training

Luzon centrist democrat leaders will attend the 5th Centrist Democrats Leadership and Trainers Training from Oct. 5 to 9 at Crowne Plaza Galleria Hotel in Ortigas, Quezon City. “The clamor and participation in nation building of these new breed of leaders are quite astonishing,” said Lito Monico Lorenzana, president of Centrist Democracy Political Institute which organized the training together with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. For more information, contact Paul Gongora, CDPI communications director at 8936198 local 23 or at 0917-8989348.