Commies behind murder of Vizcaya gov’s hubby: PNP
By Joan Capuna
BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – After two decades of speculations over who killed then Bambang mayor Benjamin Cuaresma Jr., husband of now Gov. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma, in January 1988, police said conclusive statements from rebel returnees confirmed their belief that communists were behind it.
“In our interview with several former rebels, it has been confirmed that the underground movement was behind the gruesome killing of Gov. Cuaresma’s husband,” said Senior Supt. Segundo Duran, provincial police director. “As far as we are concerned, the 20-year-old case reached its conclusion on identities of killers.”
Mayor Cuaresma was 33 years old when he was slain on Jan. 8, 1988, 20 years ago today.
Duran, who was a company commander of the defunct Philippine Constabulary here when the Cuaresma killing took place, said rebel returnees admitted they were among those who abducted Mayor Cuaresma from a wedding feast in Sitio Cawacao, now Barangay Santo Domingo West, in Bambang town.
Most of them incidentally hail from Nagbitin village in Villaverde town, then a hotbed of communist insurgency,
Three days later, Cuaresma’s body was found in an abandoned field in Barangay Salinas, also in Bambang town, with slash wounds in the neck and his head almost totally severed.
Cuaresma’s brutal slaying, which happened during the campaign period in 1988, resulted in his pharmacist-wife being thrust into the political limelight, later winning the mayorship in a landslide sympathy vote.
The move resulted in the then 33-year-old plain housewife’s embarking on a political career that saw her through three consecutive terms as mayor of Bambang, from 1988 to 1998, two consecutive terms as vice governor, from 1998 to 2004, and now on her second term as governor.
This also took place while she raised her four children: 25-year-old Benjamin III, now the mayor of Bambang town; Luisa Marie, 24; Lloyd, 23; and Luisa Corazon, 21.
Even during her previous terms, the 51-year-old widow had been praying that justice be served for her husband’s killing.
“We learned that those who were actually responsible for (Mayor Cuaresma’s) killing later died in encounters with the military and police over the years,” Duran said.
Although justice may no longer be served against Mayor Cuaresma’s killers, his family can now put a closure to this sad chapter on his gory death.
“At least, I am happy that we already know who the perpetrators are. I know that Boyie, wherever he is, is at peace and happy for the development not only of Bambang but also of the whole province,” Gov. Cuaresma said.
Vizcaya gov’t opens dialysis center
BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – Novo Vizcayanos needing to undergo dialysis for the treatment of kidney and liver ailments can now be treated in the province, avoiding spending thousands of pesos for transportation and exorbitant hospital fees in Metro Manila.
The provincial government formally opened last week its multimillion-peso dialysis center, the first local government-run health facility in the southern part of Cagayan Valley.
The new facility, Vice Gov. Jose Gambito said, was designed to cater to indigent patients.
Gambito said the P16.5-million center at the Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Hospital in Bambang town, is equipped with state-of-the-art technology for a more thorough dialysis of patients, and will continue to be upgraded regularly to boost its efficiency.
Gambito said the dialysis center, which was conceptualized during the first term of Gov. Luisa Lloren Cuaresma, will serve not only the residents in this landlocked province but also those from neighboring Isabela, Quirino and Ifugao.
Of the center’s P16.5-million cost, P6.5 million was spent for the building, and the rest for the dialysis equipment and modern facilities, including a water treatment system.
“Those who want to avail themselves of the center’s services will merely pay a minimal fee for maintenance. The medical facilities are, of course, especially intended for our indigent constituents,” Gambito said.
The dialysis center, according to Cuaresma, is part of her administration’s health programs, which include the establishment of another LGU-run 200-bed hospital in Bagabag town to serve residents in the province’s northern part.
“This dialysis center is a gift of our administration to the people of Nueva Vizcaya and an answer to the needs of those who desperately need dialysis but cannot afford to go to Manila or other areas just to undergo it,” she said. – Joan Capuna
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