Mayor Gisela’s secretary named ‘person of interest’

Another “person of interest” was added on the list of suspects in the killing of Bien Unido Mayor Gisela Boniel.

Senior Supt. Jonathan Cabal, chief of the Philippine National Police’s Regional Intelligence Division in Central Visayas (RID-7), said they are now considering the secretary of Boniel as a “person of interest.”

The secretary, who is still to be identified, was said to be the one who contacted the mayor on June 6, or on Tuesday last week while she was in Tagbilaran City and told her to return to Bien Unido and proceed to the town’s Double Barrier Reef Dive Camp supposedly to sign some papers.

“She (the secretary) was the one who influenced the mayor to go to the resort kasi nga meron daw dokumento na pipirmahan,” said Cabal.

(The secretary was the one who influenced the mayor to go to the resort because there were documents that needed to be signed.)

It was in the dive camp that Gisela and her husband, Bohol Provincial Board Member Niño Rey Boniel had an argument that led to the killing of the mayor.

Angela Leyson, the best friend of Mayor Boniel, earlier told the police that on June 6, she, her 17-year-old son and Boniel were invited by Wilson Hoylar to stay at the dive camp.

The mayor, who was by then already living apart from her husband, agreed to go to the dive camp because she received a call from someone who was presumed to be one of her staff at the municipal government, saying that there were documents that needed to be signed at the camp.

The dive camp was a project of PB Member Boniel when he was still the mayor of the town. His wife Gisela succeeded him as mayor in May 2016.

Hoylar is also now a suspect in the killing of the mayor, along with the PB member; and Randel Lupas, Niño’s driver; Riolito “Etad” Boniel, Niño’s cousin and the boatman who has pinpointed the site along the Olango Channel where the mayor’s body was dumped; and Restituto Ludia Jr.

The five suspects, including Niño, are detained at the RID-7 office inside Camp Sergio Osmeña, the headquarters of the Police Regional Office 7 (PRO-7), located along Osmeña Blvd., Cebu City.

Cabal said the secretary was also the wife of another suspect, Lobo Boniel, a relative of the PB member.

Lobo, who is still at large, is a “trusted aide” of Niño, according to Etad.

He said Lobo is also the son of the owner of the pumpboat that was used to dump the mayor’s body in the sea between Bohol and Cebu.

“She (the secretary) is the wife of Lobo. The secretary may have knowledge on the conspiracy to kill the mayor,” Cabal said.

Aside from Lobo, a certain “Jay-R” is also at large.

Cabal said that they are now looking for these three persons of interest in the killing of Gisela.

“Di pa natin kilala yung secretary. Ipinapahanap pa natin sila,” cabal said.

(We still yet to determine the identity of the secretary. We are still looking for them.)

Meanwhile, Cabal disclosed that the friends of Gisela have raised money that will be used as a bounty for information that can lead to the arrest of Lobo and Jay-R. The bounty is P100,000 for each of the suspect, he said.