Presidential assistant killed in car crash

Presidential technical assistant on resettlement Nestor Ponce Jr. was killed while his wife was seriously injured in a vehicular accident atop the Ortigas flyover in Pasig City at 5:30 a.m. yesterday.

The former Manila congressman and his wife were on their way to Tagaytay City to attend Mass when their Isuzu Trooper figured in a head-on collision with a Toyota Prado driven by Jason Ivler, 23.

Ponce, 53, was declared dead on arrival at the Medical City while his wife Evangeline, also 53, was being treated for injuries at the same hospital.

Police said Ivler, reportedly a relative of a ranking official of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), was also injured and is now being treated at the Asian Hospital in Muntinlupa City.

Ivler reportedly lost control of the Toyota van he was driving before it swerved into the opposite lane and rammed head-on the Isuzu Trooper driven by Ponce at the newly inaugurated Ortigas flyover.

Traffic investigator SPO3 Alexander Galang said Ivler, a resident of Blue Ridge, Quezon City, was driving a vehicle with diplomatic license plates 23370.

Galang said the entire left front and rear side of the Isuzu were smashed, fatally pinning Ponce behind the steering wheel.

Ponce was a member of the Liberal Party and the former representative of the second district of Manila. He was named Assistant Majority Floor Leader in the House of Representatives during the 11th Congress.

Palace spokesman Ignacio Bunye said, "We are saddened to hear the untimely death of presidential adviser Ponce. He will surely be missed." — With Marvin Sy