Dinagat Islands: Ecleo country

WITH Dinagat Islands voting as a province for the first time, candidates surnamed Ecleo have emerged as the province’s most favored politicians. Thirteen members of the Ecleo clan, relatives and descendants of Ruben Ecleo Sr., founder and Divine Master of the cult Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), made it to the winners’ circle.

Rep. Glenda Ecleo, wife of the late PBMA chief, ran unopposed for the new province’s lone congressional district.

Five of the couple’s eight children also secured various positions in the province. Daughter Geraldine, the couple’s seventh child, who also ran unopposed, is governor-elect. Youngest daughter Gwendolyn is mayor of Dinagat. The capital town, San Jose, will be under the control of Benglen, the fourth of the brood, while Allan II, the fifth of the siblings, is a member of the town’s Sangguniang Bayan. Third child Gracelyn is a member of the Sangguniang Panglalawigan. Son Allan I ran but lost in the vice-gubernatorial race of Surigao del Norte.

The polls also show an apparent modus vivendi between Glenda, the so-called “material wife” and Reyneria Borja, former mistress or “spiritual wife” of Ruben Sr. Reyneria competed for a council seat in the town of Cagdianao. Her son with the late PBMA Divine Master, Ruben Al, won as vice mayor. No other Ecleo ran in that town. The two wives of Ruben Sr. almost clashed in the 1995 congressional elections.

Other Ecleos believed to be nephews of Ruben Sr. also made it in the polls. Romeo Ecleo made it as provincial board member. In the capital, five of the eight Sangguniang Bayan seats will be occupied by Ecleos: Michael Angelo, Elvin, Jessie, Henry Ecleo Malatamban and Ruben’s son Allan II.

Glenda, the matriarch, is now in her twilight years. The 70-year-old lawmaker, who at first reluctantly ran for Congress, has now chalked up over two decades of experience in politics. Observers say the congresswoman has no strong political heir who is ready and able to step in as the family’s next political and religious leader, despite the recent victory of five of her children at the polls.

“The Ecleos will self-destruct once she is gone. Walang credible sa mga anak niya,” says one.

Ironically, some see Ruben Al, Ruben Sr.’s son with his “spiritual wife” Reyneria, as the one with the most potential among the PBMA leader’s offsprings. “Ruben Al has charisma and knows how to work with people,” says one. But whether he will be able to unify the Ecleo clan and the allegedly three million-strong PBMA behind him is another matter.

Ruben Sr.’s heir-designate, PBMA Divine Master Ruben Jr., has repeatedly run afoul with the law. He was charged for the murder of his wife Alona Bacolod in 2002. He is out on a P1-million bail. Late last year he was convicted on charges of corruption stemming from the construction of San Jose town’s public market in the 90s, when he was mayor.

Dinagat, which became the country’s 81st province in December last year, is made up of just seven towns, with a population of just a little over 100,000, half of them PBMA followers. If the trend set by the Ecleos last May continues, Dinagat may soon be too small for the clan.

In the meantime, the Ecleos will have to focus on improving the lot of the poverty-stricken province they will govern. The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) lists the towns of Dinagat, Basilisa and Tubajon as fifth class municipalities, with residents earning an average of P7,000 to P13,000 per annum. San Jose, Cagdianao, Libjo, Loreto are fourth class towns, with the average income ranging from P13,000 to P21,000 per annum.

See PCIJ story, “Faith, Hope and Politics.”