Lina orders probe of Ecleo’s admission

CEBU CITY — Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. said a tho-rough investigation should first be conducted to determine whether the admission of detained cult leader Ruben Ecleo Jr. that he had given money to the jail guards of the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center is true or not.

"Ecleo’s statement cannot be taken hook, line and sinker," Lina told reporters when asked if he plans to pursue the filing of bribery charges against Ecleo based on his earlier statements to the media.

Lina said he has ordered the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to find out the truth on Ecleo’s statement, adding that one cannot make any conclusion yet until this probe is done with.

Lina, who spoke before the convention of barangay officials from Iloilo City at the Waterfront Hotel here Thursday night, said Ecleo’s admission is not enough to file a case against him contrary to acting city prosecutor Jose Pedrosa’s statement.

Pedrosa earlier said Ecleo could be held liable for bribery after admitting having given money to the jail guards, although Ecleo claimed having done it out of generosity and not in exchange for any favors.

Pedrosa said the act of giving bribe to government employees is punishable under the penal law for corrupting government officials and employees, and that Ecleo could be prosecuted on this basis.

However, Lina did not believe that BBRC officials have given Ecleo any special treatment. This, despite the recent discovery of various personal luxury items in the cell of the controversial inmate.

Lina insisted for an investigation first to find out if there are officials liable for the apparent entry of the items into Ecleo’s cell.

In a surprise inspection last Monday, newly installed BBRC warden Nestor Velasquez found a chainsaw, musical instruments, cellular phone and P500,000 in Philippine and foreign currencies, among other things, in Ecleo’s cell.

Velasquez ordered the items confiscated, admitting that the jail guards obviously allowed Ecleo to bring in those items into his cell.

On the matter of letting the city government take over the management of the BBRC from the BJMP, Lina said he would study the matter since the law should first be amended to give way to this proposal.

The city government has been lobbying to take full control of the BBRC in the wake of controversies that have tainted the jail’s operations. — Freeman News Service