CEBU, Philippines - The judge hearing the seven-year-old parricide case against cult leader Ruben Ecleo Jr. yesterday scheduled new hearing dates starting March.
This after the supposed resumption of the trial last week hit another snag due to the unavailability of the witness that the defense was supposed to present to testify on the health condition of the accused.
Defense lawyers Orlando Salatandre and Giovanni Mata filed an urgent motion last week seeking for the resetting of the case to later dates because their witness, Dr. Roberto Anastacio, had prior engagements.
The motion was granted and Regional Trial Court Branch 10 judge Soliver Peras reset the hearing of the pending motion of the prosecution to re-examine Ecleo’s health condition on March 17 and 31 all at 3 p.m.
The court also scheduled the resumption of the hearing of the main case on April 14, May 19 and June 2 also at 3 p.m.
The defense was supposed to present Anastacio last week but the latter could not make it also because of prior engagements.
Anastacio is the cardiologist of Ecleo at the Makati Medical Center.
The defense wants to present Anastacio so he can tell the court about the health condition of the accused amidst the claim of the prosecution that he was no longer as sick as he claimed to be.
The prosecution is moving for the cancellation of the P1 million bail earlier granted to Ecleo because of humanitarian reasons. But according to Salatandre the court cannot rule on whether or not to cancel the bail of Ecleo because there was no formal motion filed by the prosecution.
Salatandre said the prosecution was given the discretion by the court whether or not to file the motion for the cancellation of bail. He said what is pending before the court is only to have Ecleo’s health condition re-examined.
Ecleo was granted release on bail last March 1, 2004 by RTC judge Generosa Labra after Ecleo’s doctors certified that Ecleo’s heart condition made him a “walking time bomb that could drop dead anytime”.
The prosecution, however, was able to get the opinion of Dr. Generoso Matiga, a cardiologist at the Perpetual Soccour Hospital, who said Ecleo has no significant coronary disease that would endanger his life if he is sent back to jail.
Ecleo is accused of killing his wife Alona in Jan. 5, 2002. — Fred P. Languido/BRP (FREEMAN NEWS)