Jail warden Lita Quilaton admitted this after reporters caught Ecleo with a woman inside his shielded cell the other day.
The woman was not his wife. His wife, Alona Bacolod, had been murdered with Ecleo himself tagged as the principal suspect, the reason why he is in jail.
Quilaton did not explain the choice of Ecleo, a murder suspect, as an adviser to the inmates.
She said the presence of the woman inside Ecleo’s cell was one of the privileges he (Ecleo) enjoyed as an adviser to the inmates. Another privilege, she said, was that Ecleo can be visited by anyone any day.
She said it was Ecleo’s prerogative who he would like to be with inside his cell.
Nevertheless, Quilaton dismissed the suggestion that this privilege granted Ecleo constituted special treatment, saying the same privilege was enjoyed by other "advisers."
The incident prompted Bureau of Jail Management and Penology chief James Labordo to require Quilaton to submit a formal report about the presence of the woman inside Ecleo’s cell.
"We will investigate this matter," he said.
Labordo has ordered Ecleo’s transfer to a new cell with the other inmates. Last June 27, prior to his isolation, Ecleo was attacked by an inmate who, in turn, was shot dead by jail guards.
Last Saturday, the reporters intended to see Ecleo for an entirely different matter about reports circulating in his native Surigao del Norte that the supreme leader of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) would be coming home next month.
Ecleo had shielded his cell with boxes and curtains, blocking any view from the outside.
The Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center, where Ecleo is detained, is open for visitors only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Visiting hours are from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 to 2:30 p.m., except on Saturdays when visiting hours are longer, lasting up to 5:30 p.m.
Angelito Bacolod, a brother of Ecleo’s slain wife, said his family would ask authorities to stop giving Ecleo special treatment and remove the curtains and boxes that shielded him from view.
The Bacolod family was nearly wiped out on June 19, the same day Ecleo himself was captured in a clash between government troops and his supporters on Dinagat Island in Surigao del Norte.
The Bacolod family, living in Mandaue City, was attacked by a lone gunman. Himself killed by police, the attacker yielded an identification card showing that he was a PBMA member.
As expected, Ecleo refused to talk when reporters visited him the other day. The reporters were allowed in despite it being outside visiting hours.
But to the surprise of the reporters and photographers who clambered up to take a peek at what was behind the curtains, a woman was seated beside Ecleo.
Upon seeing the reporters, the woman, clad in a red, sleeveless blouse and denim pants, immediately hid behind Ecleo.
A man later tried to grab the video camera of GMA 7 cameraman Jun Solon while a woman shoved The Freeman photographer Cyril Camporendondo away and asked her to stop taking photos.
Both the man and the woman were believed to be PBMA members because of the cult’s rings on their fingers.
At the time of the incident, Quilaton was not around. Deputy jail warden Oscar Capanas and Senior Inspector Edmund Maboloc, the officer of the day, immediately claimed ignorance of the woman’s presence inside Ecleo’s cell.
Maboloc insisted there was no other person, except Ecleo, inside the cell during the headcount at about 2:20 p.m. the other day. — Freeman News Service