Parricide charges filed vs former mayor, cult leader

Police yesterday filed parricide charges against former Surigao del Norte mayor and cult leader Ruben Ecleo Jr. for the death of his wife Alona.

The regional PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group also filed murder charges against Ecleo’s bodyguard Juriven Padero, who was tagged by one of Alona’s brother as the one who helped Ecleo load Alona’s body into the trunk of Alona’s car on the night of Jan. 5.

Alona’s decomposing body was found four days later inside a black garbage bag at the foot of an eight-meter ravine, in the southern town of Dalaguete. Upon examination of Alona’s body, National Bureau of Investigation medico-legal Nestor Sator said Alona appeared to have been beaten up and strangled, that eventually led to her death.

In their complaint filed before the City Prosecutor’s Office, the CIDG said that based on their investigation, Ecleo and Padero appeared to have connived in killing Alona on the night of Jan. 5.

Ruben Ecleo Jr. and Juriven Padero, confederating with one another by taking advantage of their superior strength, killed the victim by strangulation, wrapped her dead body with a black garbage bag with tapes, dragged and loaded it in the baggage compartment of the family-owned red Toyota Corolla car with plate no. GKK-286, and along with four unidentified others, finally dumped it at a ravine in Dalaguette, Cebu," the CIDG said.

In the evening of Jan. 8, Ecleo and Padero allegedly fled to Surigao City, escorted by Sgt. Leo Rallistan of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Central Command. The CIDG also said that a searched conducted in Ecleo’s house in Forest Hills, Banawa on Jan. 14 revealed bloodstains on a plastic shower curtain, a blue bed sheet, doorknob and a floor mat.

The Toyota Corolla earlier submitted by Alona’s relatives for investigation likewise contained bloodstains inside the baggage compartment. Alona’s family, the Bacolods, have always maintained that Ecleo was responsible for her death. It took the police, however, 13 days after her body was found in Dalaguete, to finally file charges against Ecleo in connection with Alona’s death. In filing the complaint, the CIDG attached sworn affidavits of several witnesses, including Alona’s brothers Josebil and Ben Bacolod, Forest Hills Compound Security Guard Rodrigo Panelio, Guadalupe baranggay tanods Jose Ulysses Bolayog and Andy Miñoza, and Alona’s friend Arturo Samorin Jr.

Josebil said that on the night of Jan. 5, he was inside his room in a house adjacent to that of the Ecleo couple in Banawa, when he heard a "continuing noise coming from the room of Alona, which was very alarming."

To find out what was going on, he went inside the main house, proceeded to the kitchen pretending to look for water to drink. He said he was surprised because the lights inside the house were dim and the main lights were turned off. He said he saw Ecleo appearing to be restless and profusely sweating. "He looked at me in an angry manner as if he is planning something wrong against me."

Josebil said he went back to his room, but was so bothered by Ecleo’s unusual behavior that he went outside for a second time.

This time, he said the he saw Ecleo and Padero loading a big black garbage bag into the baggage compartment of the Toyota Corolla with plate number GKK-286. — Freeman News Service