Ruben Ecleo faces arrest, expulsion from Congress

CEBU, Philippines - Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) supreme master and Dinagat Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr. is facing expulsion from the House after the Supreme Court ruled with finality on his convictions of three graft cases.

The Sandiganbayan yesterday ordered the arrest of Ecleo, who is out on a P1 million bail for a parricide case in Cebu, following the high tribunal’s decision.

The high court has affirmed three graft convictions against Ecleo during his stint as mayor of Surigao del Norte in 1991 to1994. His conviction carries a penalty of 18 years in jail and perpetual and absolute disqualification from public office. House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales in an ABS-CBN report said that the House will strike out Ecleo from its rolls as soon as the House of Representatives receives a certificate of finality upholding his conviction.

 “If the penalty imposed includes the accessory penalty of perpetual and absolute disqualification to hold any public office, as soon as the House of Representatives receives certificate of finality of judgment, his name will be deleted from the roll,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales said there will be no need for ethics proceedings to expel Ecleo since he has been convicted by final judgment. Ecleo will likewise lose his parliamentary immunity from arrest.

 Congressmen facing penalties of six years or less may not be arrested while Congress is in session.

House Speaker Feliciano ‘Sonny’ Belmonte said Ecleo can now be arrested because he cannot invoke his parliamentary immunity considering that the penalty imposed upon him is more than six years.

Belmonte, however, said that they are still trying to get a copy of the decision. But, he stressed that the House leadership will not prevent the service of the warrant.

Once Ecleo is expelled, the total House membership will stand at 282 representatives.

 Ecleo is currently facing parricide case before the Regional Trial Court Branch 10 in Cebu City in connection with the death of his wife Alona-Bacolod Ecleo in January 2002.

He was granted P1-million bail by the court out of humanitarian reason because he claimed to be a “walking time bomb” citing his heart condition.

Ecleo won as representative of the lone district of Dinagat Islands in the May 2010 elections. (FREEMAN)