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Thursday, March 04, 2004
Ecleo running for mayor in Dinagat; state seeks hike of bail to P5M
By Giovanni A. Nilles & Karlon N. Rama With Sun.Star Staff Reporters
EVEN before he could walk free on bail, Ruben Ecleo Jr. has announced his candidacy for mayor of San Jose town in Dinagat Island, Surigao del Norte.
He is reportedly running unopposed in the town that he once ruled, populated mostly by members of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), which he leads.
While Ecleo is dreaming of a return to politics, his estranged in-laws seem to be in for rough sailing.
The Department of Justice suspended since February the privileges it granted to three witnesses in the parricide case against Ecleo, who is charged with killing his wife Alona Bacolod-Ecleo in January 2002.
The department, according to Crusade Against Violence chairperson for the Visayas Thelma Chiong, cut the allowances given to witnesses Gloria Navaja, Angelito and Josebil Bacolod, as the three have already given their testimonies in court.
Provincial Prosecutor Cezar Tajanlangit, who is in charge of the government’s
witness protection program in Central Visayas, quickly denied the claim. He said he is still considering the possibility of reinstating the three, who may be presented by the prosecution as rebuttal witnesses.
Protection
“My policy will always be for the protection of witnesses. But there must be a balancing act here…I can finish evaluating their status this week,” he said.
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7 Chief Salvador Manga Jr. assured that the agency will continue providing security to the Bacolod family, especially now that Ecleo is about to be released on bail.
For Manga, Ecleo’s being out on bail is not a threat to their security, but he understands if the Bacolod family has some apprehensions.
Ricky Bacolod also confirmed that his two brothers are no longer enjoying financial assistance from the witness protection program.
Only Ricky, their youngest sister Cleah and the late Ben Bacolod’s wife Baby are receiving allowances from the program, while Niño and Josebil’s benefits have been scrapped.
The Bacolod brothers all expressed disappointment after the court allowed Ecleo to post bail, citing his poor health.
Their parents, brother Ben and sister Evelyn were all gunned down and killed outside their home in Mandaue City in June 2002, on the eve of Ecleo’s arrest in Surigao.
Make it P5M
Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Generosa Labra yesterday refused to approve Ecleo’s bail application, opting instead to wait until Friday.
That’s when the Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor will raise its oral arguments on its motion for an increase in bail and the issuance of a hold-departure order against the parricide suspect.
Assistant City Prosecutor Nicholas Sellon, who heads the prosecution panel handling Ecleo’s case, together with Assistant City Prosecutor Roy Carillo, submitted the consolidated motions yesterday morning, hours before the Commonwealth Surety Corp. bondsman handling Ecleo’s account arrived.
Sellon intends to file a more comprehensive motion for reconsideration against Judge Labra’s order granting Ecleo the right to post bail.
“Accused is leader of the PBMA, an organization which boasts of 10 million members who have shown support for the accused. It is reported in the media that accused, while detained, was able to keep in his cell the amount of P5 million in cash. From the foregoing, it is clear that the P1 million bond granted by this honorable court is a paltry sum,” he said.
Sellon wants the bond increased to P5 million, paid in cash, “so as not to negate the efficacy of the bond in ensuring the attendance of the accused in trial.”
For her part, Thelma Chiong of the Crusade Against Violence said: “Aren’t we being humane enough by allowing Mr. Ecleo to stay in his hospital room? If he is really sick, then the hospital is where he is supposed to stay. He doesn’t need bail for that because we’ve already given him that.”
Candidate
Asked to comment on the ruling that allowed Ecleo to post bail, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he was “very deeply disturbed.”
And with a grave look on his face, he added that he could not really explain why he should be, further saying he might consult his psychiatrist.
“Maybe somebody can tell me why I’m deeply disturbed,” he told reporters, who were kept wondering what the mayor meant.
Osmeña said, though, that as mayor, he is bound to uphold the law, “without mental reservation or purpose of evasion.”
Defense lawyer Orlando Salantandre Jr. revealed that Ecleo’s younger brother filed Ruben’s certificate of candidacy at the Surigao Commission on Elections in December yet.
Ecleo is due to replace a younger brother, Allan Ecleo, who has served his third term as town mayor.
“He is running unopposed but his first priority is really his health,” Salatandre said, when asked how Ecleo can stand the rigors of campaigning and of occupying a public office.
“The prohibition in the Constitution (barring people from running for an elective public post) refers only to those convicted by final judgment. And final judgment means those cases that have been decided by the Supreme Court,” the lawyer added. With MBG/RHM
(March 4, 2004 issue)
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