A Cebu City judge pronounced Surigao Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr. guilty of parricide for killing his wife Alona
Bacolod 10 years ago.
Ecleo was sentenced to reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment.
He was also ordered to pay P25 million in damages to his wife’s family.
The verdict was read aloud by Regional Trial Court Judge Soliver Peras amid tight security in the court
room of the Palace of Justice in Cebu. At least 36 policemen and SWAT members were present. No
cameras were allowed inside.
Ecleo, who skipped bail and hasn’t attended three previous hearings, was not present.
His cult followers in the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) were in the court room
along with two members of the Bacolod family.
The body of Ecleo’s wife Alona was found in a black bag at the bottom of a ravine in Dalaguete town,
south Cebu in January 2002.
The judge said the alibi of Ecleo, who said he wasn’t in Cebu when the crime took place, “is easy to
fabricate.”
He said Ecleo’s hastly departure and stay in Dinagat island was an indication of guilt.
Ecleo guilty of killing his wife alona
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