Philippine Cult Leader Surrenders After Bloody Clash

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, June 19, 2002

Philippine Cult Leader Surrenders After Bloody Clash

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An alleged fugitive cult leader surrendered Wednesday morning in the southern Philippine province of Surigao del Norte after at least 16 of his armed followers were killed in a clash with government soldiers and the police.

Ruben Ecleo, the principal suspect in the killing of his wife, gave himself up to the authority after being given an ultimatum, the Philippine Daily Inquirer online news reported.

One policeman and one soldier were also reportedly killed whilescores were wounded in a raid on Ecleo's mansion which began Tuesday afternoon and lasted until Wednesday morning.

Ecleo, who had been charged with parricide, is the supreme master of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), an alleged cult group having over 30,000 members.

There's also reports said that Ecleo has been considered to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ by at least a million followers of the pseudo-Christian PBMA in the central and southern Philippines.

Ecleo is also a former mayor of a town on the southern Dinagat island.

The decomposing body of Ecleo's wife Alona was found inside a black garbage bag at a remote area in the Central Philippine city of Cebu in January.

Ecleo, 47, is also being linked to Tuesday's massacre of Alona's parents and brother who were attacked in their home.

Ecleo is to be transferred to Cebu City to face murder charges alongside his bodyguard for the death of his wife.

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