Meeting with Siaton (Negros Or.) Mayor, Police Pulahan cult members vow to help find "fugitive" leaders

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – At least 21 members of the Pulahan cult in Siaton town of Negros Oriental on Monday met with Mayor Albert Ator and police officials and promised their full support and cooperation in locating and even arresting their “fugitive” leaders.

Inspector Cresente Gurrea, chief of the Siaton Police, clarified that the 21 men did not “surrender” as earlier reported by the local media, saying there was no reason for them to do so.

The 21 men from Barangays Apoloy and Casalaan, led by a certain Alberto Sumili, appeared at the office of the mayor to declare that they already left the Pulahan cult after learning that their leaders were facing criminal charges,

They were not even armed, unlike their leaders who were believed to be carrying high-powered firearms while in hiding, Guerra said.

Guerra said those who visited the mayor claimed they wanted authorities to officially note that they had already separated from the Pulahan group in Siaton, apparently to avoid being linked to their leader, a certain Marcus Pasculado, alias Macoy.

Pasculado is reportedly facing various criminal charges with at least three to four different pending warrants of arrest, said Gurrea.

Pasculado’s “right hand man” is believed to be Jimmy/Jimson Enocerta, who has been charged, along with his brother, Jerry and Jerry’s wife, Espedita, for the murder of businessman Demetrio “Pororoy” Larena III last year.

Jerry and Espedita Enocerta have been incarcerated since their arrest last year following the death of Larena, Guerra told The FREEMAN.

Guerra said that, aside from Pasculado and Jimmy Enocerta, a few others belonging to the Pulahan cult in Siaton are also believed to be armed and dangerous. The armed group is mobile, crossing boundaries between Siaton, Sta. Catalina and Bayawan towns where other Pulahan groups are also present, he said.

Last April, Jimmy Enocerta managed to elude arrest after he allegedly led Pulahan members in the shooting-to-death of Martin Tangaro.

Gurrea said that Tangaro, 44, single and a farmer and resident of Casalaan in Siaton, was most likely killed for allegedly providing information to the police about Enocerta and his companions.

The Siaton police later reported also in April about an “encounter” between Enocerta’s group and unidentified armed men believed to be “rising up in arms” against the fugitives.

Gurrea further disclosed that the Pulahan cult in Siaton was facing a “leadership crisis” after Pasculado and his allies allegedly grabbed “power” from the former leader. (FREEMAN)