Dinagat Representative Ruben Ecleo. INQUIRER file photo
CEBU CITY—Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Nicanor Bartolome has ordered a nationwide manhunt for Dinagat Island Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr. following his conviction for the murder of his wife 10 years ago.
Every policeman in the country, not just the police in the Central Visayas and Caraga regions, should be involved in arresting Ecleo, Bartolome said yesterday.
“We have the mandate to arrest Ecleo. Our police will do exactly that,” the PNP chief said while on a visit to Cebu City for “Operation Tuli,” a project of his wife, Naomi, to benefit the children of Mandaue City.
PNP Spokesperson Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz said the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group already has tracker teams combing Mindanao and Metro Manila but declined to identify the areas or give “operational details” so as not to jeopardize the manhunt.
Bartolome said police should coordinate with people in the communities. He said police have to rely on the public’s cooperation in arresting fugitives like Ecleo who has not been seen in public since he was meted a 31-year jail sentence by the Sandiganbayan in 2006 on a separate corruption case.
“We sometimes run into difficulties in hunting them down but eventually they fall into our hands,” he said.
A Cebu City court on Friday found Ecleo guilty of parricide for the killing of his wife, Alona, inside their Cebu City home on Jan. 5, 2002.
The remains of Alona, a medical student, was found inside a garbage bag that had been dumped in a ravine in Dalaguete, a town in southern Cebu, three days later.
Judge Soliver Peras sentenced Ecleo to reclusion perpetua (at least 30 years imprisonment) and ordered him to pay his wife’s heirs P25 million in compensatory damages, P200,000 in moral damages, P200,000 in exemplary damages, P200,000 attorney’s fees and P50,000 temperate damages.
Ecleo, the “supreme master” of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association religious cult, was arrested in June 2002 following a bloody gun battle between the police and PBMA followers who barricaded his mansion on Dinagat Island.
In March 2004, Ecleo was released after the court allowed him to post a P1 million bail bond so he could seek medical treatment for a heart ailment.
Ecleo had stopped attending the hearings of the parricide case after he was convicted for graft by the Sandiganbayan in 2006 for overpaying the construction of two municipal buildings and for spending public funds for a women’s center owned by the PBMA when he was the mayor of San Jose, Dinagat Island.
Alona’s siblings have called on President Aquino to order the arrest of Ecleo to give justice to their dead sister. They believe Ecleo is hiding out in the family’s Dinagat island stronghold.
Josebil Bacolod said the family would welcome moves by organizations or individuals to raise funds for a cash reward for anyone who can provide information that would lead to the arrest of Ecleo.
In Butuan City, Ecleo’s family said they would appeal the guilty verdict which they said had left the Ecleo clan shocked and depressed.
“Literally, it was like the world collapsed on our shoulders. We will appeal it and our family hopes for the best and positive answer,” said Dinagat Island Vice Gov. Jade Ecleo, a younger sister of the convicted lawmaker.
Jade urged the family’s political supporters and PBMA followers who were “mourning” the conviction of their leader to stay calm and to respect the rule of law.
She believes Ecleo’s repeated failure to attend court hearings may have antagonized Peras, prompting the adverse ruling.
“The judge could have been challenged by Ruben’s failure to attend the hearings so he was convicted,” Jade said.
She dismissed reports that Ecleo had already left the country, saying she had spoken to her elder brother by phone to discuss his situation.
“He did not leave for abroad and is still in the country. Ruben is not a fool and dumb enough to live a life of a fugitive because he knows the law,” Jade said.
She said her impression was that Ecleo would surrender and respect judicial processes.
“I am confident that he will surrender but as to when, I don’t know. The soonest possible time the better,” she said.
According to the vice governor, she had told her brother that his legal fate could change if he voluntarily surrenders and faces his fate.
“Our is a country governed by laws and no one is above it. Even former presidents and prominent people got jailed and we have to live with that reality,” she said.
Interior Secretary Jesse M. Robredo on Saturday said he had personally asked Ecleo’s family to convince him to give himself up but had gotten no positive response.
“Maybe this second conviction will make them reconsider,” he said. With a report from DJ Yap