Cult leader Ruben Ecleo Jr arrested in Pampanga after years in hiding

MANILA, Philippines — Cult leader and former Dinagat congressman Ruben Ecleo Jr., the No. 1 most wanted fugitive on the interior department's list and who had been in hiding since 2011, was taken into police custody on Thursday. 

Known as the "supreme master" of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association, Ecleo strangled his wife, Alona, to death in their home in 2002. Her corpse was found wrapped in a garbage bag in a ravine in Dalaguete town in Southern Cebu.

According to a police report, Ecleo had been living in Balibago, Angeles in Pampanga under the name “Manuel Riberal” at the time of his arrest. He was brought in by elements of the Regional Intelligence Division-Special Operations Group and Metro Manila police's Regional Mobile Force Battalion.

Ecleo was also arrested with one Benjie Relacion Fernan, who is being charged with obstructing the former's apprehension. 

"I've wanted to give up for a while, because I'm already tired," Ecleo told reporters after he was presented to the media. 

On top of his convictions—one for killing his wife in 2002, which yielded life imprisonment and three more graft convictions for which he was sentenced to 31 years in prison—he will be charged with violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The Department of Interior and Local Government had offered a reward of P2 million for Ecleo's arrest.

Police Gen. Archie Gamboa, the chief of the Philippine National Police, added that Ecleo’s arrest should send the chilling message to all other fugitives: “You can run but you cannot hide from the PNP. We will put you behind bars.”

As a result of the arrest, some four or five members of the national police will be receiving promotions, Gamboa said. 

"It's not an easy thing to track a fugitive who has been wanted for 14 years. It's good he didn't fight back despite his armaments," Gamboa said. — Franco Luna