Kin, friends say goodbye as Captain Bontuyan is laid to rest
Police Captain Delfin Bontuyan’s family offer their prayers for the slain cop during his Requiem Mass on May 30. (CDN Digital Photo/Rosalie Abatayo)
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Only God knows who Police Captain Delfin Bontuyan was.
This was the message of Reverend Fr. Eduardo Villaluna to the hundreds of friends and relatives who attended the slain cop’s Requiem Mass at the San Isidro Parish in Barangay Talamban on Thursday afternoon, May 30.
“Dios ra mao ang nakakita sa kasingkasing ni Delfin. Sa mga nakasinati kaniya, mingon nga maayo siya. Sa iyang mga nakontra, natural nga moingon nga bati. Apan Diyos lang ang nakahibalo kung unsa siya sa iyang pagpuyo ug sa iyang pag-alagad [as a police officer],” Fr. Villaluna said in his homily.
(Only God knows what was in the heart of Delfin. For those who knew him, they would say he was a good man; for those who had a beef against him they would say he is bad. But it is only the Lord who knows how he lived his life, and how he served as a policeman.)
Bontuyan, who was last assigned in Sulu Provincial Police Office, was shot dead after attending a court hearing in Cebu City on May 21.
The policeman was formerly assigned in the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) before his transfer to the Police Regional Office (PRO) in Cordillera and later to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 2016.
Read more: Christine Bontuyan: People can vouch for my father’s character
A tearful Christine Claire, Bontuyan’s daughter, came up to the microphone to deliver her eulogy for her father after the Mass.
In her eulogy, Christine Claire recounted the cases that her father handled as a police officer including the Chiong Case in 1997 which was dubbed as the “Crime of the Decade,” the case of Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) Supreme Master Ruben Ecleo Jr., and the kidnapping of an infant in a hospital in Cebu City in 2016.
Christine Claire also recalled the times when her father even led in the police operations that resulted to the arrest of some close relatives.
“You worked tirelessly not just to provide for your family but because you loved what you did,” 23-year-old Christine Claire said.
Read more: Christine Bontuyan recounts story of family helped by her father
Some who attended the Requiem Mass for slain Police Captain Delfin Bontuyan wore white shirts with printed text “NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER.”
Those who attended the Requiem Mass wore white shirts with printed text “NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER.”
Among the personalities present were Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, Councilors Margarita Osmeña, Eugenio Gabuya, Sisinio Andalaes, Franklyn Ong and Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President Jessica Resch.
Several SK officials in the city also attended to show sympathy to Christine Claire, who is the SK Chairman of Barangay Talamban.
After the Mass, Captain Bontuyan’s remains were brought to the Angelicum Garden of Angels in Barangay Canduman, Mandaue City, where he was given full honors by his colleagues in the police service.
Police officials from Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) carried the coffin of Captain Delfin Bontuyan during his burial rites on May 30.
Read more: Full funeral honors, 21-gun salute for Captain Bontuyan
Personnel from the City Mobile Force Company (CMFC) gave a 21-gun salute during the burial rites./dbs
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