Ruben Ecleo Jr., sentenced for graft and for killing his wife and currently a fugitive, is no longer the Representative of the Dinagat Islands. This, after House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. signed a memorandum telling Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II to remove Ecleo from the roster of members of the House of Representatives. Belmonte said this was "pursuant to the final and executory resolutions of the Supreme Court affirming the Decisions of the Sandiganbayan on the conviction of Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr." The Sandiganbayan earlier sentenced Ecleo to 31 years in prison over irregularities in building projects while he was mayor of San Jose, Surigao del Norte. Ecleo is still in hiding. Police have set a bounty of P450,000 for his arrest. He was sentenced to at least 30 years in prison and was ordered to pay P25 million in damages to Alona's family. Belmonte said Ecleo must be removed from the rolls since perpetual disqualification from office is part of the penalty of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. In April this year, a Cebu court found Ecleo guilty of the parricide of his wife, Alona in 2002. She was found in a black garbage bag dumped in Southern Cebu. The court determined that Ecleo had strangled her.
Source: Yahoo News