Nosey Cebu policeman an Ecleo follower?

CEBU CITY — A policeman belonging to the regional PNP Crime Laboratory Service, may be assigned to another post if he is found to be a member of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA).

The Bacolod family has alleged that SPO3 Atilano Fabilla Sr. is a member of the PBMA whose supreme master, Ruben Ecleo Jr., is detained at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center here as a suspect in the killing of his wife, Alona Bacolod.

The Bacolods’ suspicions on Fabilla’s affiliation with Ecleo’s organization arose after the police officer allegedly showed undue interest in Ecleo’s case.

Should this allegation be proven to be true, a request for Fabilla’s transfer of assignment would then be sent to Camp Crame, said Chief Inspector Medardo Ritchie Posadas, officer-in-charge of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group’s regional office.

Posadas said Fabilla has been asked to report to the CIDG office at Camp Sotero Cabahug today to shed light on the allegations.

But Posadas clarified that the move to investigate Fabilla on his affiliation is not meant to discriminate his person or his affiliation with PBMA, but a police effort to ensure the safety of the surviving members of the Bacolod family who are now under the CIDG’s protective custody.

The presence of Fabilla at the regional PNP Crime Laboratory Service office, which is adjacent to the CIDG headquarters, has alarmed the Bacolods, especially so that the policeman has allegedly been asking them about the status of Ecleo’s case and other matters concerning their family.

Niño Bacolod told reporters that since last September, Fabilla has been asking him and other family members how they have been coping with the incident and with Ecleo’s case.

Alona was murdered in January last year. Her parents Rosalia and Elpidio, elder brother Ben and sister Evelyn were massacred in June, allegedly by a PBMA member.

Niño said he was initially undaunted by Fabilla’s inquiries because he is a policeman. But he later became suspicious of the policeman’s motive.

Niño became more suspicious when he once saw Fabilla’s wife wearing a silver necklace, allegedly the same one worn by PBMA members.

Besides, he heard that Fabilla has a PBMA ring concealed in his waistline.

In an earlier interview, Fabilla denied being a PBMA member and claimed that his inquiries from the Bacolods were only part of his masteral thesis at the University of Cebu. — Freeman News Service