CEBU CITY -- The dead woman found floating off the shore of Maravilla, Tabuelan, Cebu was not Gisela Bendong-Boniel, the missing mayor of Buen Unido, Bohol.
Police Chief Inspector Rolly Puntavilla, chief of Escalante City Police Station, identified the fatality as Laureta Cabag, 64, of Calatrava, Negros Occidental.
Puntavilla, in a Bombo Radyo Cebu report, said Cabag's family identified and claimed her body.
Senior Police Officer 1 Jojit Ruiz, chief investigator of the Escalante City Police Station, said the body was discovered by Remigio dela Cruz, a fisherman, around 1:30 p.m. Saturday, and informed the authorities. The body was then brought to Escalante.
The body was clad only in an underwear and was in an advanced state of decomposition.
The body of Gisela Bendong-Boniel has yet to be found. Her husband, Bohol Provincial Board Member Niño Rey Boniel, allegedly shot Gisela last June 7 on board a pumpboat near Caubian Island in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. Her body was wrapped with a fishing net and dumped into the sea near Caubian.
Boniel, who is facing parricide, kidnapping and illegal detention charges, claimed that he is innocent. He said Gisela is not dead and is merely in hiding. (SunStar Cebu)