CIDG to distribute Ecleo wanted posters in Caraga

SURIGAO CITY, Philippines – The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in the Caraga region will disseminate posters bearing the latest picture of fugitive former Dinagat Islands congressman Ruben Ecleo Jr., convicted for killing his wife and for graft charges.
Superintendent Bowenn Joey Masauding, CIDG-Caraga chief, said Ecleo’s latest posters would also bear the upgraded P2-million reward for anybody who could give information leading to the fugitive’s arrest.
“From P300,000, the government increased the reward to P2 million hoping this would lead to Ecleo’s immediate arrest,” Masauding said.
Earlier, CIDG chief Director Samuel Pagdilao Jr. ordered the CIDG regional office to step up the hunt for Ecleo, considered the “supreme master” of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association.
Masauding said his men are monitoring reports that Ecleo is still hiding in Dinagat and is being protected by his armed followers.
“But we need to double-check these reports. I admit we need more law enforcers to arrest him,” Masauding told The STAR.
He admitted that they are having difficulty hunting down Ecleo because many of his armed followers are ready to protect him.
“We don’t want to repeat what happened during Ecleo’s arrest on June 18, 2002 on Dinagat Island where 16 of his armed followers were killed in a clash with authorities,” Masauding said.
He said the firefight also resulted in injuries to members of the Caraga regional police.
Last April 13, Ecleo was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Cebu court for the killing of his wife, Alona Bacolod, in 2002.
In 2010, the Supreme Court affirmed a Sandiganbayan ruling convicting him of graft.