Kin of slain Bohol mayor hoping for reversal of DOJ ruling

The family of murdered Bien Unido, Bohol Mayor Gisela Boniel has expressed optimism that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would still rescind its order dropping the parricide case against her husband, Bohol provincial board member Niño Rey Boniel, the family’s lawyer said on Sunday.

“This is just a temporary setback. The [victim’s] family is hopeful that the DOJ will rectify the matter,” lawyer Virgil Ligutan told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

“We rely on the good judgment of the DOJ that they will reverse the resolution sooner than later,” he said.

Ligutan was referring to the Jan. 29 resolution issued by Justice Undersecretary Reynante Orceo which granted Boniel’s petition for review to revoke his indictment for the killing of his wife in June last year.

Reconsideration

He said he would immediately file a motion for reconsideration and insisted that Boniel should not be freed from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, since he was facing another case for serious illegal detention.

In a 12-page resolution, Orceo likewise voided the decision of the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office to charge two of Boniel’s coaccused, Willy Hoylar and Restituto Magoncia Jr., with murder.

The justice undersecretary, who issued the decision with Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II’s consent, ruled that the case should have been filed in Bohol and not in Lapu-Lapu, since the crime was supposedly committed there.

Orceo was apparently oblivious to the fact that Aguirre himself had asked the Supreme Court to allow the transfer of venue of the case from Bohol to Cebu to prevent Boniel from influencing his trial.

In fact, Aguirre had assigned a special team of DOJ prosecutors to handle the case upon the request of the victim’s family.

Ligutan contended that Lapu-Lapu prosecutors had the authority to take on the case since Gisela was allegedly killed and thrown at sea by Boniel somewhere in Olango islands in Lapu-Lapu City.

The lawyer said it was a good thing that Orceo did not discount the fact that there was probable case to hold Boniel criminally liable for the murder of his wife.