Search for slain Bohol mayor's body halted

Retrieval operations for the missing body of slain Bien Unido, Bohol  Mayor Gisela Boniel in waters off Lapu Lapu City was halted on Saturday morning due to bad weather.

RGMA Cebu's Norman Mendoza reported on dzBB that Lapu Lapu City Police Office chief Senior Supt. Rommel Cabagnot ordered the suspension of the retrieval operations at around 10 a.m.

The report said police and Navy retrieval teams had plotted the area of the possible location of Boniel's body before the operation was halted.

Police said information on the possible location of the mayor's body was given by Riolito Boniel.

Riolito, a relative of the mayor, had claimed that he witnessed the mayor being slain by her husband, Bohol Provincial Board Member Niño Rey "In-In" Boniel.

The report said that Riolito told police where they dumped the mayor's body.

The report added that according to the retrieval team's estimates, the mayor's body was located 216 meters or 708 feet deep.

Retrieval teams are waiting for a remotely-operated underwater vehicle of the Philippine Navy, which will be used to search for the mayor's body, the report said.

The mayor was allegedly abducted and killed by her own husband before dawn Wednesday inside a room in a resort.

According to her friend, Angela Leyson, the provincial board member orchestrated the whole incident. She claimed the couple had personal problems for a long time.

The mayor's body was said to be wrapped in a fish net and thrown to the sea with a 30-kilogram rock.

Senior Supt. Jonathan Cabal, head of the intelligence division of Region 7 Police Regional Office, earlier said that the case was considered close due to the arrest of the provincial board member and other suspects.

The provincial board member had denied the claim of Riolito. —Marlly Rome C. Bondoc/ALG, GMA News