Court of Appeals affirms Ecleo’s conviction

THE Court of Appeals (CA) recently made final and executory the parricide conviction of cult leader and former Dinagat Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr.

In a decision dated March 28, 2014, Associate Justice Gabriel Ingles of the appellate court’s 20th division affirmed a lower court’s ruling, denying Ecleo’s notice to appeal.

Ingles also denied Ecleo’s request to transmit the entire records of the case to the CA, and the motion for voluntary inhibition of Judge Soliver Peras.

“With the denial of all his pleadings, it can be said that the guilty verdict rendered against Ruben Ecleo is final and executory,” said Ingles when asked what his decision entails.

Ecleo, the former congressman of the lone district of Dinagat Islands in Surigao del Norte and the supreme master of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association, has been a fugitive since an arrest warrant was issued against him in 2011 after he skipped three scheduled hearings in Cebu.

A nationwide manhunt for Ecleo is ongoing. In August 2012, President Aquino offered a P2 million reward to anyone who can give information that can lead to Ecleo’s arrest.

Invalid

In April 2012, Ecleo was sentenced to reclusion perpetua (at least 30 years imprisonment) when Judge Peras of Regional Trial Court Branch 10 pronounced him guilty of parricide for killing his wife Alona in Jan. 5, 2002, in their residence in Forest Hills, Guadalupe, Cebu City.

Ecleo was also ordered to pay the heirs of his wife P25.65 million in damages and attorney’s fees.
His lawyers who included the late slain lawyer Noel Archival said the decision rendered against him is “invalid” since Ecleo was not notified about the date of the promulgation and that the notice sent to his counsel is not sufficient.

Judge Peras denied the Notice to Appeal, among other pleadings, filed by Ecleo’s lawyer. Archival, who filed an Entry of Appearance as collaborating counsel for Ecleo, elevated the issues before the CA.

But Justice Ingles didn’t find any reason to reverse Peras’ decision. Ingles said inotices were sent to Ecleo’s last known address of petitioner.

“The Supreme Court in a long line of cases has consistently ruled that once an accused jumps bail…, he loses his standing in court.

And unless he surrenders or submits to the jurisdiction of the court, he is deemed to have waived any right to seek relief from the court,” said Ingles whose ruling was concurred by Associate Justices Marilyn Magura Yap and Ma. Luisa Padilla.