By AARON RECUENCO
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Ruben Ecleo, Jr., the elusive controversial cult leader who was convicted of killing his wife, was finally arrested after nine years of hiding.
Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas, director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said it took the police intelligence agents six months before they finally track down the location of Ecleo and resulted in his arrest in San Fernando, Pampanga at around 4:30 a.m.
“We received information from our agent from the Dinagat Island that Ruben Ecleo had left Dinagat Island six years ago. And accordingly, he was in NCR (National Capital Region) so the informant came from the Dinagat Island and proceeded to Manila and coordinated with our operatives and gave us an idea where Ecleo was hiding,” said Sinas in a press briefing.
Sinas said surveillance was conducted in various areas in Metro Manila until they obtained credible information that he was staying in Angeles City and was using a fictitious name.
After confirmation of the information, NCRPO police intelligence operatives finally chanced upon Ecleo near a golf course in San Fernando City.
Seized from Ecleo were a white van registered to his alias Marcos Macapagal Garcia, a golf set, fake identification cards, three cellular phones, sets of jewelry and more or less P173,000 cash.
After his arrest, Ecleo also surrendered three handguns and an M16 rifle.
The agents also arrested his trusted man and driver, Benjie Fernan, for harboring a fugitive and obstruction of justice.
“We are now checking if all the firearms were licensed. If not, we could file charges against him,” said Sinas.
Ecleo was arrested using the arrest warrant issued by the Sandiganbayan which convicted him of graft charges.
Ecleo and Fernan were taken to the NCRPO headquarters in Taguig City where they were immediately subjected to medical examination.
‘SUPREME LEADER’
Ecleo is the “supreme leader” of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) who was founded by his father in 1965. Ecleo Jr. took over in 1987 after the death of his father.
In 2002, at least 23 members of the PBMA were killed after they tried to fight off the policemen serving an arrest warrant against Ecleo in Dinagat Island in connection with the murder of his wife Alona.
The PBMA members tried to attack the policemen using their bolos, believing that they were invincible due to the amulets they were carrying.
Ecleo reportedly strangled Alona to death in their house in Cebu City before her body was dumped.
Alona’s siblings and parents were brutally murdered in June 2002 in what authorities believe as an attempt to silence them as her brother, who was killed in the gun attack in their house, was the line witness.
Ecleo was arrested but was allowed to bail. He jumped bail in 2011 and went into hiding since then.
He was convicted of parricide in April 2012 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was ordered by the court to pay more than P25 million in damages.
Following his conviction, he was dropped from the rolls of the House of Representatives as Representative of the Dinagat Island.
Since he continued to hide, then President Aquino offered P2 million for any information that could lead to his capture.
Prior to his conviction on the case of parricide, Ecleo was also found guilty of graft charges in 2006 for illegal disbursement of funds involving three construction projects when he was still the mayor of San Jose town in Surigao del Norte from 1991 to 1994. He was sentenced to 31 years in jail.
Ecleo, during a press briefing, said he was forced to go in hiding for fear of being jailed.
“It is better this way because I will no longer hide. I’m so tired of it already,” said Ecleo.
