Fight looms over body of Ecleo son’s wife

CEBU CITY — The Ecleo and Bacolod families are headed for a potential clash on who gets custody and burial rights over the body of slain Alona Bacolod Ecleo.

Alona’s husband, Ruben Ecleo, is expected to arrive here anytime with his mother, Surigao del Norte Rep. Glenda Ecleo, to claim the body.

But the idea does not sit well with the Bacolod family, who regards Ruben as a potential suspect in the killing.

The Ecleos and Bacolods both hail from San Jose town in Surigao del Norte, where Ruben Ecleo was once the mayor. While the Ecleos want to bury Alona there, the Bacolods apparently want her buried in Cebu.

Alona and Ruben had been temporarily residing in Cebu while she pursued her studies at Southwestern University where she was a senior medical student due to graduate in March.

Disappearance

She disappeared from their home in Banawa last Jan. 5. She was found dead three days later, dumped in a ravine in Dalaguete, her body inside a garbage bag bound by masking tape, an apparent victim of severe beating and strangulation.

Ruben left for Surigao that same Tuesday, purportedly to look for his wife there, ostensibly unaware that her body had been found earlier that day.

Ruben did not return to Cebu even after the body was identified by Alona’s brother and the gruesome discovery was reported in the news.

His mother, Rep. Ecleo, said she did not want her son, now the head of the religious sect Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association which her husband founded, to be subjected to intense public scrutiny. Both later changed their minds, saying they will be coming to Cebu to claim the body.

Suspicions

But that may be easier said than done.

The Bacolods do not want Alona back with the Ecleos because of their nagging suspicions that Ruben might have had a hand in the killing.

The Bacolods and Ecleos traded barbs, including comments about the use of prohibited drugs. Ruben was accused of being a drug user, a charge denied by the Ecleos, who alleged that the Bacolods had it the other way around, with a brother of Alona being the alleged drug addict.

But for now, the clash may center on who gets custody of and burial rights to the body.

A brother of Alona, who asked not to be identified, said his family will not allow the Ecleos to gain possession of the body, which now lies at the St. Francis Funeral Homes on Natalio Bacalso Avenue under the watchful eyes of the Bacolods.

Alona’s father Elpidio said he will only allow Ruben to take his daughter’s body and bury it in Surigao if he is able to satisfactorily answer questions regarding her death.

Elpidio specifically wants to know why Ruben did not look for Alona and instead, went home to Surigao when the body was found.

Husband’s right

But lawyers consulted by The Freeman said it is the husband who has the right to bury his wife under the Civil Code.

One lawyer, who asked not be named, however, said the state may intervene in the case considering that the Bacolod family suspects the husband’s complicity in the crime.

Police probers said four witnesses have come forward to issue sworn statements pointing to two possible suspects in the killing.

According to the witnesses, one of the suspects is not from Cebu but has a house here and that prior to Alona’s disappearance, a commotion was heard inside an undisclosed bedroom.

The suspects reportedly brought to Dalaguete something that appeared to be a human body. — Freeman News Service