Ecleo urged not to seek refuge in House

MANILA, Philippines -  Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. urged yesterday Dinagat Island Rep. Ruben Ecleo not to seek refuge in the House of Representatives if he decides to evade the warrant of arrest issued last week by the Sandiganbayan.

Belmonte said the House leadership would not interfere with law enforcers who would arrest Ecleo after the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Sandiganbayan convicting him and three others for graft during his stint as mayor of San Jose, Dinagat Island in Surigao del Norte from 1991 to 1994.

The Speaker, however, invoked parliamentary courtesy and warned authorities not to arrest Ecleo inside the halls of Congress.

When asked what he will do if Ecleo seeks refuge at the session hall, he said, “it won’t happen.” “If I were in his shoes, I am not going to take refuge here, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” he said.

He said the arrest warrant should be served outside the plenary hall of the House.

“I think courtesy requires that this (arrest be) done outside (of the plenary hall),” Belmonte said.

”The arrest is none of our concern here in Congress. Let me just say, being a congressman is not a barrier from being arrested. Certainly the House will not stop or stand in the way for his arrest,” he said.

Ecleo’s mother, Dinagat Island Gov. Glenda Ecleo met Belmonte last Monday to seek clarification on the status of her son in the House.

She also assured Belmonte that Ecleo would yield peacefully once the SC denies his appeal.

A statement from Rep. Ecleo’s office appealed to the public not to prejudge him as he awaits the outcome of his appeal.