CEBU CITY – Two more suspects in the 2017 killing of a town mayor in Bohol fell into the hands of authorities last Thursday.
Allan delos Reyes Jr. and Lobo Boniel were arrested in Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City through a warrant of arrest issued by Lapu-Lapu City Regional Trial Court Branch 70 Judge Christine Muga Abad.
With their arrest, 10 suspects are now in police custody, including Bohol Provincial Board Member Rey Boniel, the husband of the victim, Gisela Boniel, who was the mayor of Bien Unido, Bohol when she was killed on June 7, 2017.
The victim’s body has yet to be found after she was shot and thrown into the sea off Mactan Island.
Rey Boniel, who denied involvement in the crime, has been charged with parricide after witnesses pointed him as the alleged mastermind.
“We got an instruction from (Police) Gen. Debold Sinas (Police Regional Office 7 chief) to account all most wanted persons in the region. Luckily, we got an information regarding the whereabouts of the two suspects,” said Police Col. Jonathan Cabal, chief of the Bohol Provincial Police Office.
Cabal said Lobo was one of those who planned the murder, while Delos Reyes is the right hand of Rey Boniel. “They were together in a boat where Mayor Boniel was killed,” Cabal said.
Cabal added that a .45 caliber pistol and a police uniform were recovered from Lobo. Police later found out that the uniform belonged to Police Patrolman Nico Ababon, the owner of the house where Lobo was arrested.
Cabal said the policeman may be charged for harboring a criminal. “The policeman may be held liable. It’s possible that he knows everything. Lobo’s live-in partner is the sister-in-law of the policeman’s partner,” Cabal said.
He said Delos Reyes also revealed that when an arrest warrant was issued against them, they were advised by Rey Boniel’s legal counsel, Inocencio dela Cerna, to go into hiding. Dela Cerna was the lawyer who was ambushed near a courthouse in Cebu City last Sept. 2. The lawyer survived the attack. (Calvin D. Cordova)
