9th Recyclable Collection Event

Volunteers weigh old newspapers during the 9th Recyclable Collection Event at SM Davao Carpark on Tuesday. Organizers bought all recyclables such as old newspapers, empty bottles, plastics and even broken appliances on the culmination of the Environment Month just this June. The event was organized by City Government of Davao, Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and SM Davao. Keith Bacongco / AKP Images

Money from Trash

Volunteers weigh old newspapers during the 9th Recyclable Collection Event at SM Davao Carpark on Tuesday. Organizers bought all recyclables such as old newspapers, empty bottles, plastics and even broken appliances on the culmination of the Environment Month just this June. The event was organized by City Government of Davao, Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and SM Davao. Keith Bacongco / AKP Images

Plot Thickens as Abduction of Fil-Chinese Banker in Surigao now Enters 144 Days

by Ben Serrano

June 30, 2009

SURIGAO CITY- With 144 days exactly had past and still no clues on whether abducted Filipino-Chinese trader and President of Rural Bank of Placer Johnson Cuiting can still be recovered or not, the plot thickens as days of now you see, now you don’t investigation of the case are dragged into weeks and months.

And what thickens the plot is that, all five kidnappings in the past involving prominent personalities and mostly Fil-Chinese traders of this city took place mostly months or one year before every election is held.

No less Surigao City Mayor Alfonso Casurra who is chairman of the crisis committee in Cuiting kidnapping case confirmed that most of the five kidnapped victims who retuned safe may have paid board and lodging fees amounting to millions to the kidnappers who until now were not identified and remained scot-free.

“In most of those cases I was not the Mayor then as suspicions claimed they all have paid ransom money and all of them have retuned alive”, Casurra claimed in an earlier interview with this writer.

Casurra confided that victims’ immediate families and their close relatives opted to stay silent and not cooperative with investigating authorities to heed with kidnappers’ demands; not to go near cops or talk to media while threatening to ransom issue.

Surigao del Norte Police Director Senior Supt David Yalong Ombao told this writer they are still investigating the Cuiting abduction case while admitting it is one of the most difficult kidnapping case he had handled so far.

“All we‘ve got so far are fingerprints as we do not have eyewitnesses who have personally saw faces of the suspected kidnappers”, Omabao said.

Ombao added that they are investigating all angles of the Cuiting kidnapping case including alleged “kidnap me” rumors due alleged personal debts from alleged gambling losses in high profile mahjong games that cropped up, personal grudges, business rivalries and others.

Ombao claimed he is also investigating the alleged row among Cuiting siblings over properties by which wife of the victim confirmed some misunderstandings among the Cuiting siblings over questions of properties.

Earlier suspicions cropped up that Cuiting kidnapping may have something to do with poll fund raising. Authorities here and even close relatives of the victim admitted the kidnappers demanded P10-M ransom money.

According to Ombao that the kidnappers’ last call in demanding ransom money was last four months ago and after that no calls were received by Mrs. Cuiting since then until now.
Wife of the victim, Dr. Bliss Dingal Cuiting who is an anesthesiologist at the Caraga Regional Hospital here in Surigao City denied that her husband has not engaged in any high profile playing bet games Mahjong.
“He doesn’t know even how to play mahjong and our only social life was to join communications group Clean-10 as my husband is a homebody and he only engaged in daily home to office activity”, says Dr. Cuiting who now acts as Rural Bank of Placer President.
Dr. Cuting said at the time he was abducted, she claimed, they just came from a local Spa in their routine couple spa activity.
Dr Cuiting admitted that her husband is maintaining medicines for his congenital heart ailment
She added they as a couple maintained a low profile life having no children after more than 12 years of marriage.

“My husband is a good man, the reason why I am still confused until now why he was kidnapped as he has no known enemies except with some business competitions maybe and some employees who do not wanted Cuiting disciplinary but humane style of managing business”, Dr Cuiting added.

Cuiting claimed her husband’s abduction was the sixth to happen in Surigao City and majority of not all were all done months or a year before every local elections were held.

But others claimed Cuiting plays high mahjong in a popular mahjong

Surigao City Police records showed that Cuiting was abducted by four fully-armed Tagalog speaking suspects but are actually Visayan with Muslim accent, wearing black jackets, ski-mask and gloves inside the trader’s home at Ceniza Heights Subdivision, Barangay Caniog, Surigao City about 9:45 p.m. on the evening of January 7, 2009.

Police said the suspects waited for the arrival of couple Johnson and wife, Dr. Bliss Dingal Cuiting boarding their white Toyota Hi-Lux bearing plate number KDL 969 at the gate of their palatial home situated at the secluded portion of the Ceniza Heights Subdivision.

Bridging the Gap

Farmers and residents in Brgy. Magsaysay in Polomolok town now enjoy safer crossing and easier market access through the box culvert constructed over a flood-prone creek by the local government and the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP). Aside from safety, the bridge provides faster movements of farmers’ produce which are mainly corn, banana and other high value crops. MRDP is poverty alleviation that supports agricultural infrastructure to improve production and incomes of small farmers implemented under the Department of Agriculture.(DA-MRDP)

Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III

Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III says the people must act now against ConAss before it’s too late. Guingona made this statement reacting to the pro-ConAss who are still claiming that charter change is still a proposal. Keith Bacongco / AKP Images