PB Member Boniel told: Give up guns
Bohol Provincial Board Member Niño Rey Boniel, who now faces a criminal complaint over the kidnapping and death of his wife, will be asked to surrender his two firearms, Central Visayas Police Director Noli Taliño told journalists yesterday. One of the guns is believed to be the weapon Boniel used to shoot and kill Bien Unido Mayor Gisela Boniel last week.
Police Regional Office-Central Visayas Director Noli Taliño said they will ask Bohol Provincial Board Member Niño Rey Boniel to surrender his two firearms, one of which was believed to be the weapon that the latter used in killing his wife Bien Unido Mayor Gisela Bendong-Boniel last week.
A document from the Firearms and Explosives Office stated that the license for one of the guns expired in December 2015, while the other gun’s permit will expire in December this year.
Boniel was subjected to paraffin test last week, but investigators still have to receive the result.
Taliño expressed confidence that the case filed against Boniel will prosper, even though Gisela’s body is not yet found.
“With all these evidences and witnesses that we will present in court, we are confident na magpo-prosper itong kasong ito (that this case will prosper),” he said.
Boniel was tagged by his cousin, Riolito Boniel, as the mastermind behind the kidnapping and death of Gisela. Riolito said he personally saw Boniel shoot the mayor before she was thrown into the seas off Caubian Island last June 7.
Taliño asked the other four suspects, who are still at large, to surrender and face the criminal charges against them.
Two security guards of the dive camp in Bien Unido have submitted their affidavits to the police.
Investigators will get swabs of saliva from Gisela’s siblings and parents. The samples are intended for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing if the mayor’s body will be recovered.
The mayor’s relatives released a handwritten letter, asking the public to give them privacy as they grieve her death.
“We, the family of Gisela Bendong Boniel, are deeply saddened by this sudden loss. We are closely coordinating with the authorities. Our main priority now is to locate her and her body. The case is now in the hands of the authorities and we are certain that justice for our sister will be served,” a portion of the letter read.
Gisela’s family also denied that they are asking for any amount for the retrieval operation, which the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LCPO) plans to stop this week.
Taliño, however, said he will order Senior Supt. Rommel Cabagnot, LCPO director, to continue the search until next week.
He said the divers will use highend technology in the coming days to reach deeper parts of the sea. They will halt the search if Gisela’s body is not yet found in 15 days.
The police official said that Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto offered help in the search and rescue operation.
The municipality of Bien Unido will send divers to help in the search.
On the search’s sixth day, three relatives of Gisela arrived in LapuLapu City yesterday.
Cabagnot met Angeles Bendong, the mayor’s aunt, and her cousins, Jess and Oscar Bendong, past noon at the Hilton Wharf.
Family
Oscar and Angeles traveled from Siquijor, while Jess came from Iligan City, Lanao del Norte.
Before they knew about what happened to Gisela, Jess said he noticed that the mayor was no longer online on Facebook and thought that she might have a problem.
He said he cannot believe that Gisela was killed by her own husband.
Whenever he had a trip, Oscar took the flight where Gisela was the pilot because he was proud of her.
For her part, Angeles said they came to Cebu to seek justice for the slain mayor.
“Mohangyo mi dili pasayloan ang iyang bana nga naghimo sa iyang kamatayon (We are asking for help that Gisela’s husband will be penalized for the crime that he committed),” said Angeles.
Boniel was charged with parricide together with eight other suspects last Tuesday.
After he allegedly shot the mayor while on a banca, her body was thrown in the seas off Caubian Island in Lapu-Lapu last June 7.
From 19 divers on the second day of the search operation, only five divers showed up yesterday.
In a report on GMA 7’s Balitang Bisdak, the Bien Unido Municipal Government said it will extend P100,000 cash assistance to be used for the search operation.
Yesterday, Cabagnot said they brought Riolito “Etad” Boniel, one of the suspects, and let him drove a motorized banca so he could tell them the exact location where the mayor was dumped.
Riolito operated the pumped boat when Gisela was killed. The search will resume today. During the filing of the case last Tuesday, Niñolito Avenido, 31, who served as a security watchman in Double Barrier Reef Dive Camp and Dive Site in Bien Unido, said Niño and his men arrived in the resort about 12:30 a.m. on June 7. Avenido was with a colleague at that time.
In a press conference, LapuLapu Mayor Paz Radaza said that Chatto called her to coordinate for any possible assistance that the Provincial Government may extend. /