THE blood found in the pump boat allegedly carrying Bohol Provincial Board Member Niño Rey Boniel and his wife Bien Unido, Bohol Mayor Gisela on the night she allegedly died matches the saliva swab taken from Gisela's mother. The report, though, is not official.
“The Special Investigation Task Group told me that there is a result for the DNA and it was positive. But it’s not confirmed yet because there’s no official report yet,” Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Noli Taliño said.
Regional Intelligence Division (RID) Director Jonathan Cabal said he received a text message from the chief of the Regional Crime Laboratory Office (RCLO) 7 that the DNA test was positive.
Police took saliva swabs from Gisela's mother and siblings to test the DNA sample from the bloodied pump boat to determine if the vessel was the same one used in the wee hours of the morning when Gisela was allegedly shot and her body dumped in the waters off Caubian Island in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
But RCLO 7 Chief Romer Daguno said he cannot divulge information on the matter, as there's no official report.
“According to the examiner, results will be released next week, including the blanket,” Daguno said in a text message.
In a related development, authorities will resume the search for Gisela's body on Monday, following the request of the mayor's family.
"I am willing to continue the operation because that is an order, but what we need to do is palawman atong dive (we need to go deeper)," said Cebu City Police Station 4 Chief Jacinto Mandal.
Divers had recommended ending the search after scouring the water between the islands of Caubian and Olango.
They're only capable of going down up 60 meters or 200 feet.
If they go any deeper, Mandal said, they'll have to use special tanks.
He said they will know today if previous volunteers will join the search on Monday.
Meanwhile, the two suspected cohorts of PB Member Boniel are facing charges in court for their alleged involvement in Gisela's kidnap-slay.
Prosecutor Jude Henritz Ycong found evidence to charge boatman Riolito Boniel and driver Randel Lupas with murder before the Regional Trial Court.
“The accused, in conspiracy with each other...attacked Gisela Bendong-Boniel by shooting her with a firearm, hitting her on her head...and her body was wrapped in a fishing net attached with a stone serving as a sinker and was thrown into the seawater,” the charge sheet read.
Murder is a non-bailable offense.
Riolito and Lupas work for Niño, who was tagged as the prime suspect in Gisela's disappearance.
Riolito, Niño's cousin, had told police that he saw the board member shoot Gisela before throwing her body into the water.
Riolito's companions Lupas and Edgar Tapera have been endorsed to the Department of Justice's Witness Protection Program.
Niño, in his counter-affidavit to the parricide charges lodged against him and four others, denied killing his wife.
He said Gisela is not dead and may only be hiding because of her debts.
Niño also said that Riolito and Lupas were “pressured” by police to come up with a “fabricated tale” to pin her disappearance on him. (JOB, FMG, GMD)