Parricide suspect says charge premature: Boniel denies killing wife

CEBU, Philippines - The failure of authorities to present the dead body of his wife proves the parricide charge against him is premature.

This is one of the main contentions of Bohol Board Member Niño Rey Boniel as he answered the charge formally through a counter-affidavit he filed before the prosecutor’s office in Lapu-Lapu City yesterday.

“I am extremely disturbed and alarmed at how the RID, PRO-7 hastily filed the complaint for Parricide against me and several other respondents primarily based on the alleged confession of the respondents themselves even as there is no showing that the alleged victim Gisela Bendong-Boniel is already dead,” Boniel’s affidavit reads.

Niño Rey is being accused of shooting his wife, Gisela, before dumping her body into the sea off Mactan Island.

In the affidavit, he denied confessing to the crime.

“I vehemently deny to have voluntarily confessed before the Regional Director of PRO-7 of killing my own wife as I hereby deny the complaint of Parricide against me,” he said.

Coercion

Niño Rey also echoed the allegations of his lawyers that the police coerced his fellow accused to testify against him.

“The circumstantial pieces of evidence squeezed from unwilling witnesses under duress are not enough to supplant the need for corpus delicti in the prosecution of such as heinous crime of Parricide,” his affidavit reads further.

He said the personnel from the Regional Intelligence Division (RID) and the Regional Special Operations Group (RSOG) held him and his co-accused for custodial investigation and they were made to issue statements without the assistance of counsel of their own choice, which violates a suspect’s constitutional rights.

“The investigative pressure, both physical and psychological, wielded on us is something that I and other respondents could not do otherwise but yield and succumb to the investigators’ wishes to the point of just inventing stories of admissions,” Niño Rey said.

For example, he said, his co-accused Randil Lupas was allegedly forced to change the statement his issued in support of the Parricide case to make it appear that Gisela was brought to the waters between Olango Island and Caubian in Lapu-Lapu City purposely to bring the case to the jurisdiction of the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutors Office.

“This change in the statement of Randil Lupas in his second affidavit submitted in support of the Parricide complaint is intentionally crafted by the investigators and forced upon Randil Lupas as his own to suit their move to file the Parricide case in Lapu-Lapu City instead of Bohol,” Niño Rey said.

Inconsistency

In the same counter-affidavit, Niño Rey also pointed out alleged inconsistencies in the statements of another alleged cohort, his cousin Reolito Boniel who reportedly maneuvered the boat to bring Gisela’s body to the sea.

Reolito reportedly stated in his affidavit that as they reached the waters between Caubian and Olango islands, Niño Rey grabbed Gisela’s hair, pointed a gun to Gisela’s head, and subsequently fired it before dumping her body into the water with the help of one Allan Reyes.

However, this is reportedly contrary to Reolito’s statement made in public that he did not actually see Niño Rey shoot Gisela and he only reportedly heard only a gunshot.

Niño Rey said the statement was fabricated intentionally to favor the police and the charge against him could be filed immediately.

He also argued that “the allegations of prosecution witnesses that Gisela was wrapped with a blanket alive; put inside a pump boat hull; brought to the seas between Olango and Caubian within the territorial jurisdiction of Lapu-Lapu City are hardly credible by themselves being contrary to human experience.”

He pointed out that granting Gisela was still alive in the pump boat, she could have at least struggled.

Alive?

Niño Rey said his wife could still be alive because she allegedly answered when her friend called her mobile phone after news of her death broke.

Gisela reportedly said on the other end of the line, “Okay lang, we will just talk.”

“My wife Gisela has all the reasons to hide or even feign death because she is neck-deep buried on debts of several millions. That as of now, the only reason that I could think of for her sudden disappearance, if not, feigning death, is her neck high debts to different creditors,” Niño Rey said.

Moved

Also yesterday, Niño Rey was transported to the Talibon district jail in Bohol where separate charges of kidnapping and illegal detention were filed against him and other accused.

The police said, however, that they will contest the decision of the court.

“May isa-submit ang ating legal team na motion para ma-hold si Boniel. Depende sa court if ga-grant. Mas mase-secure kasi siya sa amin… aside from that, ang in-charge sa investigation ay nasa regional office, support ng ginagawa ng Bohol,” said PRO-7 chief Taliño said.

He said that despite the number of lawyers defending Niño Rey, the cases against him are strong.

Taliño said that considering they have witnesses who can attest Niño Rey indeed shot his wife and threw her body into the water, the burden of proving that Gisela is still alive lies in the defense.

“Patunayan nila. Sila nagsasabi nun. Sa amin, may nagpapatunay na binaril siya, pinatay at tinapon. Nasa kanila ang burden of truth,” Taliño said.

Habeas Corpus

Meanwhile, the Regional Trial Court has suspended the hearing of the petition for the issuance of a habeas corpus filed by the wives of Niño Rey’s two alleged conspirators due to insufficiency of documents presented by the police, the respondents in the petition.

Sonieta Hoylar, wife of Wilfredo Hoylar and Rebecca Magoncia, wife of Restituto Magoncia, Jr. both residents of Poblacion, Bien Unido, Bohol, filed the petition claiming their husbands were illegally detained by the police. — with Mylen P. Manto (FREEMAN)