Ruben Buray Ecleo Jr. (April 16, 1960 – May 13, 2021) was a former Filipino politician and religious figure who was the leader of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association who was convicted and imprisoned for

parricide Parricide is the deliberate killing of one's own parent, spouse, child, or other close relative. However, the term is sometimes used more generally to refer to the intentional killing of a near relative. It is an umbrella term that can be used to ...

and graft and corruption until his death in 2021.

Background

Ecleo was born to an influential Ecleo

political family A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly Election, electoral politics. Members may be related by consanguinity, blood or marriage; often several gene ...

in the

Dinagat Islands Dinagat Islands ( Cebuano: ''Mga Pulo sa Dinagat''; Surigaonon: ''Mga Puyo nan Dinagat''; Kabalian: ''Mga Puyo san Dinagat''; Waray: ''Mga Purô han Dinagat''; Filipino: ''Mga Islang Dinagat''), officially the Province of Dinagat Islands, is ...

. His father Ruben Sr. was a former mayor of San Jose, while his mother Glenda was a former member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association

Ecleo Jr. in 1987 inherited the leadership of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), an organization ran by his father Ruben Sr. He was Supreme President of the PBMA and was sometimes referred to as the "Supreme Master" of the group. The PBMA is headquartered in San Jose in the

. The PBMA has been characterized as a

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

. The older Ecleo claimed to have supernatural abilities while the younger one was reportedly believed to be an reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

Political career

Ecleo was Mayor of San Jose from 1991 to 1994 when the town was still part of

Surigao del Norte Surigao del Norte ( Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Norte''; ; Tagalog: ''Hilagang Surigao''), officially the Province of Surigao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Caraga region of Mindanao. The province was fo ...

. Ecleo was elected as a member of the

for

lone district Lone may refer to: People *Destroy Lonely, a nickname for the artist * Lone (given name), a given name (including a list of people with this name) * Lone (musician), Matt Cutler, an electronic musician from Nottingham, United Kingdom * Lone (surn ...

in the 2010 election. He was removed from his position on May 31, 2012 due to his conviction for graft and corruption.

Crimes

Ruben Ecleo Jr. was married to Alona Bacolod. He strangled his wife to death in their residence in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

on January 5, 2002. At the time of her death, Bacolod was in her 20s and a fourth-year medical student. Bacolod's body was found three days later in a ravine in

Dalaguete Dalaguete, officially the Municipality of Dalaguete (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 74,596 people. History ...

. Ecleo's crime was linked to his dependency on

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

by a court testimony of one of Bacolod's seven siblings. On June 18, 2002 Alona's brother Ben, a key witness to Ecleo's case along with her parents and sister Evelyn were killed at their house in

Mandaue Mandaue (), officially the City of Mandaue (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 364,116 people. ...

. A warrant for his arrest was released. The police and military went to the PBMA headquarters in San Jose, Dinagat Islands to serve the warrant. Ecleo was detained, but released on bail in March 2004 to seek treatment for his heart condition. In October 2006, the ''

Sandiganbayan The Sandiganbayan () is a special Appellate court, appellate collegial court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving Graft (politics), graft and corrupt practices and other offenses committed by public ...

'' sentenced Ecleo to thirty years in prison for entering a 1993

government contract Government procurement or public procurement is the purchase of goods, works (construction) or services by the state, such as by a government agency or a state-owned enterprise. In 2019, public procurement accounted for approximately 12% of Gross ...

in which the government lost about . He was found guilty of three counts of violating Republic Act 3019. His co-defendants, Anadelia Nalauan-Navarra and Ricardo Santillan, were convicted of twice violating the anti-

graft Graft or grafting may refer to: *Graft (politics), a form of political corruption *Graft, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Graft-De Rijp Science and technology *Graft (surgery), a surgical procedure *Grafting, the joining of plant ti ...

laws and sentenced to six to ten years for each count. The case involved the funding of the construction of the market and municipal building and repair of a building owned by the PBMA during Ecleo's tenure as San Jose mayor. Ecleo stopped attending hearings in 2011 when his bail was cancelled but continued to be tried in absentia. He was convicted in April 13, 2012 for

. Ecleo was arrested in

San Fernando, Pampanga San Fernando, officially the City of San Fernando (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it h ...

on July 30, 2020 after being a fugitive for almost a decade. Police later said that he had fled the Dinagat Islands and moved to

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

in 2014 before ultimately hiding in a subdivision in

Angeles City Angeles (), officially the City of Angeles (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 462,928 people. A ...

under the name "Manuel Riberal". He had also taken in another wife who was aged 30 at the time of his arrest and had a one-year old daughter with her.

Illness and death

Ecleo contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and was brought to the Dr. J. Sabili General Hospital in

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig (), is the List of cities in the Philippines, fifth-most populous city in the Philippines situated on the eastern shores of Metro Manila, the national capital region. It is a center for culture, finance ...

on April 25, 2021. He died at the New Bilibid Prison Hospital in

Muntinlupa Muntinlupa (), officially the City of Muntinlupa (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...

due to

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

on May 13, having also suffered from jaundice and kidney disease.

References