Ex-congressman Jalosjos dies, 85

MANILA, Philippines — Former Zamboanga del Norte congressman Romeo Jalosjos Sr. died over the weekend. He was 85.

Jalosjos was a television producer-turned-politician who pioneered the country’s longest-running noontime show “Eat Bulaga!” and later convicted for raping an 11-year-old girl.

Prior to becoming a congressman, Jalosjos was mayor of Dapitan City where he established the Dakak luxury resort. He was a member of the Batasang Pambansa from 1984, until former president Cory Aquino abolished Congress.

Jalosjos was charged with two counts of statutory rape and 12 counts of sexual abuse and exploitation with acts of lasciviousness for raping a minor, who was brought to him by the victim’s adoptive father in exchange for P10,000 at his condominium unit along Ayala Avenue in Makati.

He went into hiding, but was captured in 1997 during the administration of Fidel Ramos on an island off Bagac, Bataan by agents of the Presidential Security Group, led by then Col. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., and the National Bureau of Investigation.

Despite his incarceration in Makati while his case was undergoing trial, Jalosjos filed his candidacy and managed to get reelected in 1998, holding office until 2001.

He was later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Jalosjos was removed from the roster of the House of Representatives and was replaced by his sister Cecilia Carreon in August 2022, through a special election conducted by the Commission on Elections.

Inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa, Jalosjos again drew controversy when he admitted financing the establishment of a tennis court, karaoke bar, gymnasium and bakery inside the NBP’s maximum security compound.

In June 2007, then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo commuted his life term to 16 years and allowed him to live in a privately owned house in Katarungan Village, a reservation area within the NBP.

Jalosjos was released in 2009, after serving 11 years, as prison officials credited his good conduct time allowance.