DIVERS TO REFINE SEARCH TODAY
Suspect PB Member Niño Rey Boniel’s counsel says they have proof that Mayor Gisela Boniel is still alive and in Dubai, but won’t release them until needed
Three days after their recommendation to stop the search, divers will again dive today between Caubian and Olango islands to look for the body of Bien Unido Mayor Gisela Boniel.
Cebu City Police Station 4 Chief Jacinto Mandal, a technical diver who heads the diving team, said they will refine the search today.
“We will again search from quadrant 1 to quadrant 13 because there is possibility that the water current brought her to a place,” Mandal said in Cebuano.
There will be seven to eight volunteer divers today.
They were the same divers who joined the authorities since the retrieval operation started on June 8.
Mandal believed that although Gisela was wrapped in a net with 30 kgs. of rocks in it, the body will float.
“Simple ra ang explanation ana. Kanang gidala namo nga tangke 15 kilos na, akong weight 70 kilos, nganong molutaw man ang diver maka- surface man (The diving tank is 15 kilos and I’m 70 kilos. Why do you think a diver reached the sea surface?),” he said.
“Moburot gani ang tiyan (Once the stomach of a human bloats after being submerged in the sea,) air has entered the stomach. Molutaw gyud na (The body will definitely float),” he said.
Mandal believed that the blanket they recovered was used in the crime based on the testimony of one of the suspects.
Divers will leave the mainland of Lapu-Lapu at 6 a.m. today.
In a report from GMA 7’s Bal- itang Bisdak, Chief Insp. Junnel Caadlawon, chief for operations of LCPO, said that after today’s search, they will once again make a recommendation to the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 director.
Still alive
Meanwhile, the legal camp of Bohol Provincial Board Member Niño Rey Boniel announced that they have evidences and documents that can support their statement that the mayor is alive and in Dubai.
However, lawyer Gerardo Carillo, one of Niño’s lawyers, said they will only present them if the police have sufficient testimonies and if the court will acknowledge them.
“We will present evidence after the prosecution has proven their part because in a criminal case, it is the prosecution, the police, who must prove their evidence beyond reasonable doubt,” Carillo said.
If the police fail to do their job, it is the duty of the state to dismiss the case and the defense woule no longer have to present their case, Carillo said.
PRO 7 Director Noli Taliño said the police have strong evidence even if the body will not be found.
“They are conditioning the public in portraying that the mayor is still alive, even if there’s no evidence. Because they know that the sympathy of the people is with the victim, who is the mayor,” Taliño said.
Niño’s camp is also pushing for the consolidation of his cases for kidnapping, serious illegal detention and parricide.
“It is up to the court where they will decide, but we want it to be held in one venue, may it be in Bohol, Cebu or Lapu-Lapu for the security of our client,” Carillo said.
Eyewitness
In a related development, the Regional Intelligence Branch is yet to decide when eyewitness Riolito “Etad” Boniel will be transported to Bien Unido, Bohol for the burial of his father.
Senior Supt. Jonathan Cabal said that they will send Riolito to the burial.
“He will be under heavy guard,” he said in a text message.