THE Sandiganbayan First Division affirmed
last June 6 three graft convictions against cult leader and
former San Jose, Surigao del Norte mayor Ruben Ecleo Jr. in
connection with fund disbursement anomalies in three
construction projects undertaken during his term between 1991 to
1994.
Ecleo, 52, was convicted on Oct. 13, 2006 and
sentenced to 31 and a half years in prison.
With the Sandiganbayan's denial of his motion
for reconsideration, Ecleo's bail would now be cancelled.
Two of Ecleo's co-accused, former municipal
planning and development coordinator Anadelia Navarra and
private contractor contractor Ricardo Santillano of PBMA
Builders were also found guilty of conniving in the fraudulent
transactions and sentenced to 21 years in jail each.
The three were ordered to jointly restore to
the municipal government P2.86 million representing the illegal
payments made to the contractor.
A fourth defendant, then municipal treasurer
Arsenia Orejas, remains at large and is the subject of warrants
issued by the graft court.
Ecleo, son of Surigao del Norte Rep. Glenda
Ecleo, is "supreme master" of the Philippine Benevolent
Missionaries Association (PBMA). He hogged the headlines in
mid-2002 after 22 of his followers died in a clash with police
officers who tried to arrest him at the PBMA compound in Dinagat,
Surigao del Norte. He is also facing trial for parricide in Cebu
for the death of his wife Alona Bacolod-Ecleo whose body was
found dumped in a ravine in January 2002 with signs of
strangulation.
The graft cases involved the construction of
a public market, a new municipal building and a guesthouse. The
contractors received full payment even while the municipal
building and the public market were still "concrete and steel
skeletons" while the guesthouse turned out to be a private
structure.
In his appeal, Ecleo claimed he approved the payment in good
faith because he relied on the technical advice of his
subordinates. The court dismissed this assertion, noting that it
was his duty as mayor to ensure that taxpayers get value for
their money. - Peter J.G. Tabingo
