FORMER Dinagat Islands representative and murder convict Ruben Ecleo Jr. died Thursday, May 13, 2021, at the New Bilibid Prison, said the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

BuCor spokesperson Gabriel Chaclag said Ecleo, 61, died at 12:20 p.m. Thursday after suffering from cardiopulmonary arrest.

Ecleo’s death came a week after BuCor announced that he had recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

But Chaclag said Thursday, May 13, that the former Dinagat lawmaker had various medical conditions, including chronic kidney disease and obstructive jaundice.

Ecleo, who was considered the number 1 Most Wanted Person of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, was arrested in Pampanga on July 30, 2020 after more than eight years of hiding. He was convicted of parricide for killing his wife.

He was also the supreme master of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association, a religious organization founded by his father Ruben Sr. (SunStar Philippines)