A motorized banca believed to have been used by the suspects during the killing of Bien Unido Mayor Gisela Boniel was found in an island-barangay in this town on Friday afternoon. Leo Udtohan/Inquirer Visayas
BIEN UNIDO, Bohol—Traces of blood were found on the motorized boat that was believed to have been used in transporting the body of Bien Unido Mayor Gisela Boniel.
She was believed to have been dumped into the waters between Cebu and Bohol after she was shot dead on Wednesday.
The motorized boat was recovered by the police on Malingin Island, about 10 kilometers away from mainland Bien Unido town about 4 p.m. Friday.
The police went to the island-barangay (village) after they were told by Riolito Boniel, a cousin of Board Member Niño Rey Boniel, that the motorized boat they used was moored on Malingin Island.
Niño, Riolito, and Randal Lucas, the driver of the board member, have been detained after they were tagged in the killing of Niño’s wife, Gisela whose body had not been found.
Jealousy and financial problems were believed to be the motive in the killing that rocked Bien Unido, a sleepy town with a population of about 27,000.
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Riolito told reporters in Tagbilaran on Friday that Niño shot his wife early Wednesday morning.
He claimed that they loaded Gisela on a motorized boat, wrapped her with fishnet before tying her to a rock that weighed around 30 kilos to ensure that she would submerge in the water.
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He added they then dumped the body in the waters between Olango Island in Cordova town, Cebu and Bien Unido town in Bohol.
Policemen had been scouring the area since Thursday but had not found the mayor.
SPO1 Fernando Item, Bien Unido police station team leader, said the motorized banca recovered on Malingin Island could carry at least eight persons.
The motorized banca, which was colored white and blue, matched the description given by Riolito, Item said.
He said bloodstains were found on the cover and the floor. The banca also emitted foul odor when the police examined it, he added.
“Naay dugo baho sa dugo sa tawo (There were traces of blood that smelled like a blood of a person),” Item told Inquirer. “Posible maoy gigamit ni sa mga suspek(It is possible that this was the boat used by the suspects).”
Item said there was a possibility that someone tried to clean the banca because only a few bloodstains were left.
The Scene of the Crime Operatives (Soco) had taken samples of the bloodstains and would be subjected to forensic examinations to determine if these belonged to the missing mayor.
The boat was owned by Victorio Boniel, a resident of Malingin Island.
According to Item, Victorio claimed that he left the boat at the port of Bien Unido and was surprised when told that it was recovered on Malingin Island.
Inspector Librado Bigcas, Jr, chief of Bien Unido police station, said Victorio’s son, Lobo, had been tagged as “person of interest” in relation to the killing of the mayor.
Item said Lobo is an employee of the Bien Unido Municipal Hall while his wife works as a secretary of the mayor.
Lobo could not be found and was believed to have left Bien Unido, he added.
Authorities have brought the boat to the mainland where it is being guarded by police.