AT THE root of the tragic death of 42-year-old Kristine Joy “Lotlot” Dignadice in Victorias City lies what many call bawal na pag-ibig.
Her killer, Police Staff Sergeant Enrique “Boni” Gonzalodo Jr., 43, was her lover for three years, according to Colonel Dennis Wenceslao, director of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOcPPO).
Lotlot was a single mother with a 10-year-old son. Boni, on the other hand, is a married policeman with two children. They met in 2019 when Boni was still assigned at the Victorias City Police Station.
It started with text messages and private chats that soon developed into a mutual understanding — and by 2022, a full-blown affair, according to Boni.
On the morning of Wednesday, October 28, tragedy struck. Lotlot reportedly left their home at Canetown Subdivision, Barangay 19-A, around 5 a.m. She took the Bacolod-Silay Airport Circumferential Road and met Boni at the First Farmers’ area in Barangay Matab-ang, Talisay City.
Inside her car, a heated argument broke out. In his extrajudicial confession, Boni claimed that Lotlot grabbed his 9mm service pistol during the confrontation. As he tried to take it back, the gun allegedly went off, hitting her on the right shoulder. The bullet exited through her neck and shattered the windshield on the driver’s side.
Forensic expert Major West Edquilla of NOcPPO confirmed Boni’s account, though he clarified that it remains undetermined whether the shooting was intentional or accidental.
Lotlot died instantly. In panic, Boni — confused and distraught — drove the vehicle to Bago City, where he said he dumped her body in a sugarcane field at the boundary of Barangays Alianza and Jorge Araneta (formerly Ma-ao). He then proceeded to Hinigaran, where he said he abandoned the car in a remote area of Sitio So-ol, Barangay Gargato.
The Confession
Later that afternoon, Lotlot’s car — with a damaged windshield and visible bloodstains — was discovered. By the next day, her disappearance dominated headlines.
After four days of search efforts, Boni finally surfaced. He confessed to the killing and led his fellow policemen to the location of Lotlot’s body.
Prior to his public confession, however, Boni — assisted by his lawyer — had already executed a written extrajudicial confession on Friday night, October 31, narrating in detail their relationship and the events that led to the fatal shooting.
Two Sides of the Coin
The revelation of their secret affair stirred mixed reactions. Some of Lotlot’s friends and former classmates objected to the framing of the story around the love affair, urging the media to show sensitivity and restraint.
Others, however — including supporters of Boni’s family — insisted that the truth must be told in full, no matter how painful.
Caught in between, the NOcPPO had no choice but to lay out both sides. Colonel Wenceslao confirmed that a lovers’ quarrel inside the car caused the tragedy, though he declined to speculate on what triggered it.
Rumors suggest that Lotlot, consumed by jealousy after learning Boni had a new romantic interest, drove from Victorias to Talisay to confront him. But Boni has remained silent on this claim.
Counter-Intelligence Drive
Disturbed by the incident, Colonel Joeresty Coronica, director of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), immediately launched a counter-intelligence operation targeting more than 1,200 personnel under his command.
In a press conference on Monday, November 3, Coronica said the probe aims to identify policemen involved in bawal na pag-ibig, illegal gambling, and other vices.
He admitted that the Gonzalodo case was “a big slap” not only on BCPO’s reputation but on the image of the entire police force.
“I don’t want a repeat of this incident under my watch,” he declared.
Boni had joined BCPO only on September 25, 2024, and was assigned to Police Station 5 in Barangay Granada.
A Familiar Scandal
This isn’t the first time BCPO has been rocked by forbidden love. On May 31, 2024, the so-called Tuto-Rios case made headlines — another bawal na pag-ibig story that ended in bloodshed.
Staff Sergeant Jotham Arrem Tuto of Sagay City, then assigned to BCPO, was shot dead by Patrolman Alvin Rios of Antique, who was with the 1st Mobile Force Company of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO).
Rios allegedly caught Tuto inside their bedroom with his live-in partner.
The scandal, like the current one, brought public shame to BCPO.
‘Tukso’
Colonel Coronica said that since assuming office in July last year, he has constantly reminded his men to conduct themselves properly in both their professional and personal lives.
“I always remind them to be conscious of their actions — whether on duty or off duty — because whatever they do reflects on BCPO and the PNP as a whole,” he said.
Temptation — tukso — he added, is always around. But every policeman must learn to resist it, especially when it involves bawal na pag-ibig.
Colonel Wenceslao, for his part, assured that strict screening procedures are followed in police recruitment, particularly neuro-psychiatric testing to determine mental fitness.
But when asked about how the PNP deals with cases of bawal na pag-ibig, the NOcPPO chief declined to comment.
Ten Commandments
In the end, bawal na pag-ibig is a sin ab initio — from the very beginning. As stated in Exodus 20:17, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.”
Who are we, then, to defy God?
Those who do must be ready for the silot (punishment) — if not today, then tomorrow, or the day after.
And to those who criticize the police or the media for revealing the Boni-Lotlot affair — truth is still truth. As Bacolod Rep. Albee Benitez and 3rd District Rep. Kiko Benitez have both emphasized, the truth behind Lotlot’s death must not be concealed.
The media’s duty is not to hide the truth, but to tell it.
Ugly or uncomfortable as it may be, truth remains the cornerstone of journalism./PN
