SC: No to transfer of Ecleo trial venue

BUTUAN CITY — Cult leader Ruben Ecleo Jr. will continue to be tried on parricide charges in Cebu City despite his claim that Cebuanos have been "hostile" toward him.

This, as the Supreme Court, upon the recommendation of the tribunal’s administrator, denied Ecleo’s petition for the transfer of the trial to Manila for "lack of merit."

Ecleo, supreme master of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association, is being tried for the 2002 killing of his wife, Alona Bacolod. He is out on bail.

The public prosecutors, the private complainants and the Cebu chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines had opposed Ecleo’s petition.

Lawyer Fritz Quiñanola, one of the private prosecutors, hailed the Supreme Court’s decision as a "victory."

"We are tremendously happy about this development because there is no more obstacle to the continued and smooth hearing of the case," said Quiñanola, former police director of the Caraga region where the Ecleos hail from.

"The claim of the defense that Cebuanos are hostile (to Ecleo) remains a speculation," he added. — Ben Serrano