For more than four decades now, the titular head of the Ecleo family has been venerated as a "god" by his constituents, most of whom are also members of the family's Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA). When Ruben Ecleo Sr. died in 1987, he bequeathed the community and the cult to his eldest son, Ruben Jr., a rock musician who was more interested in perfecting his guitar-playing skills than in governing the town of Dinagat. Last week, Ruben Jr. was arrested for parricide and was found positive for shabu, even as thousands of followers came to the defense of their "divine master." The violent clashes between arresting officers and the PBMA left 17 cult members and one policeman dead.

In the 1995 PCIJ book "Boss: Five Case Studies of Local Politics in the Philippines," PCIJ investigated how politics and religion combined into a potent, if not deadly brew, in the Ecleo family's fiefdom in Surigao. Much of it still holds true, though PBMA now boasts an even bigger and more fanatical following.

THE ECLEOS, a family that religion built and eventually thrust into politics, are facing a declining faith and a severe challenge to their domination of the island of Dinagat in Surigao del Norte. Ruben Ecleo Sr., the family's charismatic patriarch, had founded a "brotherhood" called the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), in which he carried the title Divine Master.

In addition, he was—for 24 uninterrupted years, starting in 1963—mayor of Dinagat, one of the seven towns on the island of the same name. In the history of Surigao del Norte province, he holds the record for having the longest term as mayor. The death of Ruben Ecleo Sr. in 1987 fragmented the otherwise tightly knit PBMA. Some members left the brotherhood; others set up their own group outside the island. At their peak, in the 1970s, Ecleo's followers were estimated at close to half a million, scattered all over the Philippines. Today, they may range from 100,000 to 200,000, according to observers who have watched the PBMA closely. PBMA officials claim their national membership runs into millions, but this is difficult to believe, as the PBMA has never been a national religious force in the league of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC). Judging from the available evidence, the PBMA's influence is limited to the province of Surigao del Norte, especially the organization's home base of San Jose, the most thickly populated town on Dinagat island, north of Surigao City. Most, if not all, of the residents of San Jose (population: 31,000) belong to the PBMA.

The heir to the grand old man Ecleo's "divine" position, first son Ruben Jr., does not have the flamboyance, charisma, flair for public speaking and leadership skills of his late father. A reluctant Divine Master, the son merely goes through the motions of holding the association together—a task made much easier by his position as mayor of San Jose.

At heart, Ruben Jr., 34, is a rock musician. He composes, sings, plays the guitar. He admits he could spend as many as eight hours a day with his electric guitar to perfect his strumming. Sometimes, he and his band spend the evenings jamming, trying out their Divine Master's compositions. On the ground floor of the Ecleo residence is a state-of-the-art, fully air-conditioned recording studio, worth about P3 million, where the band records its music. The mayor produces tapes of all his compositions and sells them to PBMA members.

Before setting up his studio, Ruben Jr. enrolled in a short course on musical recording in a school in Ohio in 1993. His certificate, framed in glass, is prominently displayed in the studio.

Since most of his time is devoted to his music, he leaves a huge chunk of the town hall work to his vice-mayor, Norberto Sarita, a capable official who is also active with the PBMA. Sarita was a former PBMA "missionary," the highest level of membership in the organization.

In 1987 Ruben Jr. was all set to leave for Hong Kong to join a band. His work permit, plane ticket and Hong Kong lodgings were all ready. Then his father succumbed to a heart attack while campaigning for the governorship of Surigao del Norte—a post the elder Ecleo could have won.

"I was startled when members of the PBMA said I was going to take Daddy's place," Ruben Jr. recalls. All he wanted to be was a rock star. A song he composed, Pangarap, tells it all:

Pangarap ko'y maging bituin,
Hangad nila'y ako'y maging pulitiko,
Ilagay sa isip, serbisyo sa publiko, Nalilito kung saan tutungo.

But confusion turned into clarity when Ruben Jr. realized that the twin roles of PBMA Divine Master and San Jose political kingpin were tailor-fit for him. He slipped easily into his PBMA role. Months later, barrio San Jose, of which he was then barangay captain, was elevated into a municipality. His mother, Rep. Glenda Ecleo, saw to that: she filed a bill changing San Jose from barrio to town, and Congress passed the bill in 1988. Ruben Jr. became the town's first mayor, and he is now on his second term.

"I was just thrust into politics. Everything was prepared for me. I'm lucky. People are there: staffers to back me up, advisers. They and my mommy tell me what to do. I'm learning the paper work. Just like in music, it's oido."

As Ruben Jr. speaks, an amiable middle-aged woman, whom he considers his foster mother, fans him, fusses over him and serves merienda. Later in the evening, after Ruben Jr.'s jam session with the band, the woman brings him his face towel and a glass of water. He is finding out, quite easily, that music and politics "can be mixed."

However, the mayor's interest in his official duties is scant. At the time of our visit, he cancelled an urgent meeting—which had been called to prepare for next day's public hearing on town planning—so that he could escape to Surigao City, more than an hour's ride by boat from San Jose. His reason for going to the city was not political; it was to fly one of his model planes. Flying model planes, as well as remodeling those that have been wrecked, is another one of the mayor's all-consuming passions. He can talk about his juvenile hobby endlessly and with an obvious joy that is absent when he discusses his job as mayor. The expensive hobby (each model plane costs about P10,000) "teaches me to be patient," he enthuses. "It also gives me a sense of pride and fulfillment."

When not tinkering with his model planes, Ruben Jr. practices target shooting "for a change, when I'm bored with listening to music and the silence here." At the back of his unfinished palace on a hilltop in San Jose is a shooting range. It's his playground, next to the studio.

While Ruben Jr. took on the leadership of the PBMA, Moises Ecleo, brother of the late Ruben Sr., ran for governor. The two men in the family, in taking over the duties of the patriarch, each had an assigned role. Moises was to run the province, while Ruben Jr. was to lead the PBMA and run San Jose. But Moises, who won the governorship in 1988, lost it in the 1992 elections, and now Ruben Jr. is out to recapture that plum post. If he wins in May 1995, he will end up with a much larger playground—the entire province of Surigao del Norte.

The current governor, Francisco Matugas, remains popular, however. He will not be a pushover. Although he belongs to the same political party as the Ecleos, the ruling coalition Lakas, he is seen as the family's archenemy.

On the fringes, training for future political posts, is Allan Ecleo II, one of the twin sons of Ruben Sr. At 25, Allan II is barangay captain of barrio Don Ruben, also in San Jose. He started his term in May 1994 and attends to 2,000 constituents. He is being groomed to run for mayor of San Jose in May 1995. His twin brother, Allan Ecleo I, may run for mayor of the nearby town, Dinagat.

"I will run for mayor because there's no one else in the family who is willing," Allan II admits. "My other brother and sisters want to be in business."

Allan II is spare with words and reserved in demeanor. He went to school in Manila, at the Far East Military Academy (FEMA), but never completed his studies. A "stationary member" of the PBMA, at the middle rung of the membership ladder, Allan II is also a rocker, a former drummer of a rock band. In the rest house of the Ecleos, which he and his family now occupy, his drums are kept in the guest room.