Gwen not keen on reward for Ecleo

CEBU, Philippines - Governor Gwendolyn Garcia may have raised reward money for the arrest of kidnap-slay suspect Bella Ruby Santos, but she is not doing the same for Dinagat Island Congressman Ruben Ecleo, Jr.

The governor, when sought for comment, said she is not acceding to lawyer Kit Enriquez’s plan.

Enriquez, lawyer of the family of Alona Bacolod, who was allegedly killed by Ecleo, earlier said to approach the governor to also raise funds for the arrest of Ecleo. The family, he said, has no money to offer as reward to any informants.

Ecleo, also supreme master of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association, remains a fugitive since the warrant of arrest was issued against him since 2002. Enriquez concluded that the police are afraid to arrest the eluding suspect.

“I cannot accede to his request because of the circumstances prevailing upon this (Ecleo) case in contrast to the case of Bella Ruby Santos,” Garcia said. The governor explained that Santos’ victim, Ellah Joy Pique, was kidnapped in Minglanilla town. The schoolgirl’s body was eventually discovered in the area between Barili and Dumanjug.

She said the towns mentioned fall under the territorial jurisdiction of the Cebu Provincial Government and the crime happened during her watch as a governor of Cebu.

On the other hand, she said, the case against Ecleo and the alleged crime committed against his wife happened in the City of Cebu and this happened at the time when she was not a governor yet. Garcia, who chairs the task force against criminality, said she had been there from the start when she called on the National Bureau of the Investigation to come into the picture.

A move which if she did not do so, she said, a different set of suspects might be facing the case right now.

The governor said she is involved in the case in a sense and has followed it precisely because the crime happened to a constituent of Cebu.

“Insofar as the Ecleo case is concerned, I do not wish to overstep my boundaries, because if I do now, what would stop any other person from requesting me to offer another bounty for every person who jumps bail or not be located or eludes arrest not just in Cebu City but probably in cases in Zamboanga, in Apparri, or in Tawi-tawi,” the governor said.

Garcia further said Enriquez is her friend. The lawyer, she said, is also a member of the task force against criminality and is always present as representative of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in every meeting that she calls for.

However, Garcia said she is discounting personality in the matter.

“I do understand attorney Kit’s concern and he continues to be my friend of course and I really appreciate his wholehearted cooperation in the task force against criminality,” she said. The governor further said that releasing a reward money does not always follow this will ensure the capture of the person who eludes arrest. (FREEMAN)