Authorities urged to continue the search for Gisela

THE camp of Bien Unido Mayor Gisela Bendong-Boniel is hoping that authorities will continue the search and retrieval operations for her missing body beyond tomorrow’s “final” dive in the waters between Cebu and Bohol.

Lawyer Lane Pangilinan said they were informed by a staff of Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) director Chief Supt. Noli Taliño that the search, which was halted over the weekend, would resume tomorrow. But it could the last, whether or not her body is found.

“If indeed they stop the search and retrieval operation, we are positive it’s only temporary,” said Pangilinan over the phone yesterday.

Gisela’s friends and relatives are hoping that her remains could still be found, added Pangilian, the legal counsel of Angela Leyson, Gisela’s best friend who has filed kidnapping charges against Bohol Provincial Board Member Niño Rey Boniel, Gisela’s husband and prime suspect in the mayor’s disappearance and death.

“Our evidences and witnesses point that Gisela was killed at sea, and her body is still in the sea,” said Pangilinan.

It has been 15 days since divers have been scouring the seas between the islands of Caubian and Olango off Mactan Island where Gisela’s body was believed to have been dumped after she was allegedly killed by her husband.

Except for a blanket, believed to be the one in which Gisela’s body was wrapped with, the operation has been fruitless.

With resources depleting, Senior Supt. Rommel Cabagnot, the chief of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office and the head of the search and retrieval operation for Gisela, announced that the final dive will be on Tuesday.

Pangilinan said they knew that natural obstructions such as strong currents and bad weather could put the divers’ lives in danger.

However, she said, they were also told that the body might have been brought by current to areas outside of the scope of the search, “that’s why we are also hoping that the search and retrieval will continue, and maybe this time beyond the usual location of their search and retrieval.”

He said there are also a number of individuals, including divers, who are willing to help just so the search can continue.

Although recovering Gisela’s body is not a prerequisite in prosecuting Niño, it will help in substantiating their case and appeasing the victim’s family, Taliño earlier said.