Jail Ecleo

Many were so happy and welcomed the conviction of  Ruben Ecleo Jr., supreme master of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), but they  are not amused by the fact that he is still at large and can’t  be located despite the wide network of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Last Friday, Regional Trial Court Judge Soliver “Boy” Peras convicted Ecleo for the crime of parricide, and  sentenced him to reclusion perpetua (a jail term of 20 to 40 years) and ordered him to pay the family of Alona Bacold P26 million in damages.

Judge Peras gave credence to the testimonies of two witnesses especially Gloria Navaja who positively identified  Ecleo at the roadside of a ravine in Dalaguete town, where his wife’s body was dumped. The judge also gave weight to the fact that Ecleo left Cebu when he learned that his wife was missing and exerted no effort to locate her.

The judge said the PBMA could have located Alona Bacolod under ther master’s orders.

Equally questionable is the fact that the PNP, which has about 250,000 members  has not discovered the whereabouts of Ecleo who faces another warrant of  arrest issued by the Sandiganbayan that convicted him of graft.

It is not going to be easy to serve the warrant of arrest on Ecleo especially if one considers the shootout between PBMA members and authorities in Dinagat Island when he was first arrested.

The PNP should be extra careful in serving the warrant. I bet  Ecleo is in Dinagat Island hiding in  the mansion of the PBMA. I hope Ecleo will surrender peacefully to the authorities if he is not caught without bloodshed.

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Vice President Jejomar Binay is starting to form alliances with other political parties in preparation for the 2016 presidential elections.

The way I look at it, the alliance is formidable because it involves the who’s who in politics—the Estradas, Cayetanos, Villars, Migz Zubiri, Chiz Escudero, Loren Legarda, Mitos Magsaysay, Gringo Honasan and the Enriles.

But all is not well. There are problems  in the group like Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III’s opposition to the the entry of former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri in the ticket. JV Ejercito, meanwhile, is against the entry of Mitos Magsaysay.

No doubt, the leadership of United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) will have to conduct a lot of negotiations to settle differences among members.

The UNA also needs to correct the impression given by former senator Ernesto Maceda that the Binay group is against the conviction of Chief Justice Renato Corona because it will bolster the candidacy of Manuel Roxas II. Though the Binay camp has denied the speculation they must remember the statement came from Maceda, a Binay lieutenant.

In my opinion, Binay is still the strongest and most viable presidential candidate for 2016  with Mar Roxas as second. A new candidate will emerge to contest the presidency in 2016.

Vice President Binay will be the subject of exposes once  he declares his candidacy  and the public will take a closer look at his track record.

All that Binay can do from here on is to handle carefully his political moves especially since President Benigno Aquino III is still popular. .

Binay’s camp should be watchful about painting a  scenario of aa  Corona acquittal knowing fully well that in the latest survey 73 percent of the people would support the conviction of Corona. They should not court the ire of the public especially with the 2013 elections fast approaching.

Binay should start distancing himself from Maceda who is sounding like an oppositionist and a loose cannon. Binay, I think, is popular because he never rocked the administration and has always been a team player who quietly does his job without much complaint.

If Binay plays his cards well he will become the next president  while Roxas has  a lot of catching up to do since the vice president is faring well in popularity surveys. In the meantime, the Liberal Party should put up a formidable ticket for the 2013 general elections to prepare for  2016.