Pubdate: Sat, 22 Jun 2002
Source: Sun.Star Cebu (Philippines)
Copyright: 2002 Sun.Star
Contact:  http://www.sunstar.com.ph/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1690
Source: Sunstar Cebu (Philippines)
Author: Mia E. Abellana, Minerva B. Gerodias, Garry Cabotaje, Karlon N. Rama

SHABU FOUND IN BAG; PLANTED, SAYS ECLEO

Three packs of what appeared to be shabu were found among the belongings of
former San Jose, Dinagat mayor Ruben Ecleo Jr. as he was submitted for
inspection at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC) Friday morning.

The three packs were wrapped inside a bar of Ivory soap and were discovered
just minutes after Ecleo set foot inside BBRC.

His lawyer and top police officials witnessed the inspection.

Ecleo said he packed the bag himself, but denied the "shabu" belonged to him
and said it was likely the soap was planted.

"Dili man ko mogamit og Ivory nga sabon," he told reporters. (I don't use
Ivory soap.)

His lawyer, Orlando Salatandre, pointed out it was not Ecleo who carried the
green bag from Manila, but an officer of the Criminal Investigation and
Detection Group (CIDG).

"When we say possession, who was carrying that bag?" he asked.

CIDG Chief Nestorio Gualberto ordered an investigation in Camp Crame on why
the bath soap and its potentially illegal contents slipped through the
authorities, from the police camp to the airport.

Salatandre also questioned yesterday the results of a drug test that found
Ecleo positive for shabu, saying it was administered without his client's
consent. He also filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to transfer the
trial outside Cebu, citing the hostility that met his client here.

Prosecutors are using Ecleo's supposed drug abuse to establish motive in the
parricide case, which stemmed from the death last Jan. 5 of Ecleo's wife,
Alona Bacolod-Ecleo.

However, prosecutors admitted the same angle could also be used to push for
a suspension of trial, so he can undergo rehabilitation.

'My Problem'

Asked if he used illegal drugs, at a press conference at the CIDG 7, Ecleo
retorted: "Problema na `yon ng lawyer ko. Problema ko na `yan." (That's my
lawyer's problem and mine.)

At the Palace of Justice, asked again if he was indeed on drugs during the
four-hour gunfight in his turf in San Jose town, Ecleo merely replied: "I
don't know."

Apart from possession of illegal drugs, Ecleo could face charges of murder,
frustrated murder and illegal possession of firearms after the bloody
confrontation Tuesday night that killed 16 of his followers.

An ABS-CBN Manila report said no gunpowder burns were found on Ecleo's
hands, which suggests he did not fire guns recently. That was the lone bit
of good news for the former mayor Friday, as he was transferred to Cebu to
await trial.

Also found among Ecleo's possessions were letters of support from PBMA
members with cash donations, amounting to P4,580, two packs of Hope
cigarettes, three lighters and an identification card and badge belonging to
JO1 Arnulfo Nicolas.

Nicolas is a jailguard assigned at the Bureau of Jail Management and
Penology (BJMP) in San Jose, Surigao del Norte.

Razon Saw

Ecleo admitted he owned all the other items except the soap, saying Nicolas
was a friend of his who gave him the ID card and badge when he was arrested.

An ABS-CBN Manila report also quoted him as admitting to have used shabu and
marijuana, but that he quit two years ago.

Ecleo admitted he packed the things in the bag, but that he did not know how
the bar of soap "mysteriously" appeared in it.

Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Avelino Razon Jr., however,
confirmed he saw the three packs being taken out from the pack of soap.

"I was alongside the table supervising the inspection when it yielded three
packs," he said.

Razon said that it was apparent the bags were not inspected thoroughly
before the party left for Cebu.

He also said that JO1 Nicolas will also be investigated by the CIDG and BJMP
as to how his ID and badge reached Ecleo.

The Mabolo Police Station is set to file the additional case against Ecleo
today if results from the PNP Crime Laboratory prove the substance was
indeed shabu.

Scared Too

Ecleo's fellow inmates welcomed him to their cell, assigning to him a wooden
bed beside the wall.

He did not complain, but said only one thing about the cell bothered him.

"Grabe ang init," he said. (It's extremely hot.)

Asked how he felt, he admitted he was uncertain. "Nakuyawan ko sa
sangpotanan unya. I'm scared," he said. (I'm frightened by how all this
could end.)

But he had nothing to say about his new cellmates, as he immediately began
mingling with them when he sat on the bed assigned to him.

To ensure his safety in the facility, a platoon from the Regional Mobile
Group (RMG) was sent to augment the forces of the BJMP.

The 21 men headed by platoon leader Insp. Romeo Santander will be under BBRC
jail warden Supt. Lita Quilaton's supervision.

Visiting Rights

Elements from the Mobile Patrol Group will be patrolling the area 24 hours a
day.

Vehicles will have to take a longer route, as they are no longer allowed to
pass the vicinity of the BBRC in Lahug, Cebu City, for as long as Ecleo
remains detained there.

Ecleo's visiting hours will be just like anybody else's.

Only his immediate family members will be allowed to visit him on Saturdays,
between 9 and 11:30 a.m. and from 1 to 5:30 p.m., and on Sundays, Tuesdays
and Thursdays between 9 and 11:30 a.m. and 1 and 2:30 p.m.

Quilaton said she could not allow all his PBMA supporters to visit him as it
would be too risky.

Salatandre, however, said they will continue to pursue a transfer of the
venue of the trial, because they feel there will be unfavorable biases if it
is held in Cebu.

"We don't want also to fight and look behind our backs at the same time," he
said.
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MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk