Defense points out fiscals’ goofs in Ecleo case

CEBU CITY — By filing a motion to increase bail and for the issuance of a hold departure order, the prosecution has "acceded" to the court’s order granting bail to cult leader Ruben Ecleo, who is being tried on parricide charges for the killing of his wife.

This is one of the primary arguments of the defense in opposing the motion of the prosecution for the court to reconsider its order granting temporary liberty to Ecleo on a P1-million bail.

In a 33-page motion, Ecleo’s lawyers said that with its motion for bail reduction and issuance of a hold departure order, the prosecution can no longer claim that the bail grant is highly irregular.

They said that under the principle of estoppel, the prosecution is no longer allowed to take a contrary opposition.

The defense further said that the motion for reconsideration contradicts the relief sought in the prosecution’s motion for increase of bail, which Regional Trial Court Judge Generosa Labra has yet to resolve.

Contrary to the prosecution’s claim that there is no law allowing bail to an accused of a capital offense on the ground of serious illness, the defense said the doctrine of stare decisis requires courts to follow the Supreme Court rulings.

The Supreme Court, in the De La Rama case which Labra cited in her order granting Ecleo bail, said the modern trend of court decisions permits bail to prisoners, irrespective of the nature and merits of the charge against them, if their continuous confinement while the case is pending would be injurious to their health or endanger their life.

The defense argued that the order granting Ecleo bail was regular, valid and legal considering that the prosecution had all the chances to refute Ecleo’s health condition.

The defense said the prosecution had this opportunity when internist Evelyn Alesna testified on Ecleo’s deteriorating health.

The defense also dismissed the prosecution’s claim that the description that Ecleo was a "walking time bomb" was a complete hoax since no proof was presented to show it.

The defense said the argument was "totally misplaced and unfounded" and clarified that it was Alesna, not the defense counsels, who described Ecleo as such.

On the prosecution’s argument that Ecleo’s mayoral bid in Dinagat Island, Surigao del Norte negates his claim to having a serious illness, the defense recalled that its lead counsel, Orlando Salatandre, manifested in court that Ecleo withdrew his mayoral bid upon learning about his illness a month after filing his certificate of candidacy.

But the defense said it was only recently that Ecleo formally withdrew his candidacy in favor of his brother Benglen because his family has focused more on his health problems in the past months.

The defense, however, reiterated its earlier argument that an accused cannot be prevented to seek election since he is still presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt and until convicted by final judgment in other cases.

The defense further argued that the prosecution could not use as an argument the incident in Dinagat Island where 20 of Ecleo’s armed supporters were killed in resisting Ecleo’s arrest because Ecleo was granted bail based on humanitarian considerations.

Labra first denied Ecleo’s motion to bail last Nov. 27 but she reversed her ruling after the defense filed a motion for reconsideration.

But Labra clarified that the grant of bail is not based on the merits of the case but only on humanitarian considerations.

Ecleo, supreme master of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association, is being tried as a primary suspect in the killing of his wife, Alona Bacolod. Her body was found inside a black garbage bag dumped in a deep ravine in Dalaguete town two years ago. — Freeman News Service