AFTER two years of eluding authorities, two accused in the kidnap-slay of Bien Unido, Bohol Mayor Gisela Boniel were arrested by members of the Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group 7 in Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City.
They were identified as Allan delos Reyes Jr. and Lobo Boniel, a relative of Gisela’s husband, former Bohol Provincial Board member Niño Rey Boniel.
Niño Rey was allegedly the crime’s mastermind.
Delos Reyes and Lobo were considered the fifth and fourth most wanted persons, respectively, in Central Visayas.
The BPPO was armed with an arrest warrant issued by Lapu-Lapu City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 70 Judge Christine Muga Abad for the case of murder.
According to police, not only was Lobo allegedly present during the planning of the murder, he was also allegedly present during its execution, while delos Reyes was allegedly responsible for tying Gisela’s hands and then placing her body in a net before casting it in the waters off Mactan Island.
“He (Lobo) was also the brains behind the whole murder of Mayor Gisela while delos Reyes, he is the right hand of Board Member Rey Boniel. Kasama sila sa boat kung saan pinatay si ano si Mayor Boniel (They were in the boat where Mayor Boniel was killed),” said Col. Jonathan Cabal, BPPO director.
Cabal said his men seized a .45 pistol, several bullets and police uniform belonging to Patrolman Nico Ababon.
It turns out the owner of the house the two fugitives had been living in is a police officer.
Cabal said Lobo’s live-in partner and the police officer’s live-in partner are sisters. However, they don’t know how many months the accused had been living there, he said.
For harboring the fugitives, Ababon could face administrative charges.
With delos Reyes and Lobo’s arrest, there are now 10 accused in the Boniel case in police custody. The two men will later be brought to the court that issued their warrants.
Niño Rey was charged with parricide for Gisela’s disappearance on June 7, 2017. His cohorts, namely delos Reyes., Wilfredo Hoylar Jr., Lobo, Randel Lupas, Restituto Magoncia Jr. and Riolito “Etad” Boniel were also charged with murder.
Apart from the parricide case, Niño Rey is also facing a charge for kidnapping and serious illegal detention before RTC Branch 22 in Cebu City filed by Gisela’s best friend.
On Aug. 1, 2019, Angela Leyson, Gisela’s best friend, took the witness stand where she pointed to Niño Rey as one of six armed men who barged into their room at the Diving Camp Resort in Bien Unido on the night of June 7, 2017. (From AYB of SuperBalita Cebu, PJB)