Jason Ivler shoots it out with NBI

MANILA, Philippines - Just days after Renato Ebarle Jr. was shot dead during a traffic altercation in November last year, a helper in the household of Marlene Aguilar-Pollard noticed furniture being moved around the house as a renovation got under way.

Alerted by the helper, agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) kept the house in Blue Ridge, Quezon City under surveillance, even as Aguilar-Pollard insisted that the allged gunman the NBI was looking for, her son Jason Aguilar Ivler, might have already fled to Hawaii.

Yesterday, the NBI’s sleuthing paid off.

A hail of gunfire met the agents as they opened the door leading to the basement. The agents fired back, and a wounded Ivler was carried out of his mother’s house, ending a two-month manhunt. 

Lawyer Ruel Lasala, NBI deputy director for intelligence, told reporters that Ivler suffered gunshot wounds in the right shoulder and abdomen and underwent surgery at Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC) after the shootout at No. 23 Hillside Drive in Blue Ridge A Subdivision.

Some 50 heavily armed NBI agents raided the house at around 6 a.m. after receiving information that the suspect was hiding in his mother’s Blue Ridge residence.

Dr. Fernando Lopez, head of the surgery department of the QMMC, said Ivler was in “guarded condition” following surgery after his large intestine was ruptured and his spleen sustained a laceration.

Lasala said lawyer Lito Magno, chief of the NBI Special Action Unit (SAU), sustained a graze wound on his right thigh and was brought to the Medical City for treatment, while special investigator Anna Lira Labao was wounded in the left side of her chest and was brought to QMMC. She has been transferred to the Manila Doctors Hospital.

The raiding team seized from the Ivler an AR-15 rifle, a .45 caliber pistol, and a tactical vest with ammunition magazines.

“Nag ala Rambo siya (Ivler went berserk like the movie character Rambo),” Lasala said, describing how Ivler went berserk when NBI agents found his hideout in a secret room under the stairs of the house.

Lasala said Ivler’s mother Marlene Aguilar became hysterical as she confronted the NBI raiding team.

Ivler is the nephew of musician Freddie Aguilar and stepson of Asian Development Bank economist Stephen Pollard, a British citizen married to the suspect’s mother.

Ivler was charged with murder for the killing of Renato Ebarle Jr., son of Renato Ebarle Sr., an assistant secretary at Malacañang Palace, during a road rage incident at the corner of Boni Serrano St. and Ortigas Avenue in Quezon City last Nov. 18.

The suspect was earlier charged with homicide through reckless imprudence for the death of presidential adviser Nestor Ponce during a traffic accident in 2004. Ivler has two standing arrest warrants in connection with the two cases.

Another complainant had come out and accused Ivler of threatening him with a handgun during another traffic altercation also in Quezon City the night before Ebarle was shot dead.

The suspect allegedly used in the three incidents a vehicle that carried diplomatic license plates assigned to his stepfather Pollard.

The NBI said additional charges of assault upon persons of authority, resisting arrest, and illegal possession of firearms would be filed against Ivler.

Charges against Ivler’s ma

Lasala said they filed charges of obstruction of justice against Aguilar before the Quezon City Prosecutors Office for harboring an accused and for not reporting to authorities Ivler’s presence in her house. A bail of P12,000 was recommended.

She is temporarily detained at the NBI.

Aguilar had earlier claimed that she had received an email from Ivler purportedly sent from Hawaii.

The NBI would also took custody of Aguilar and two houseboys, Requiel Faburada and Anthony Espolon, who were brought to the NBI headquarters in Manila for questioning.

Pollard was not at the house during the raid.

“I’m still in a state of shock. My son is still fighting for his life. That’s all. I hope you understand,” said Aguilar.

Lasala said Ivler is now in stable condition and being guarded by the NBI and police operatives at the QMMC.

Dr. Lopez said Ivler is on analgesic painkillers and had a small dose of sedatives to calm him down.

“He (Ivler) is still sedated but responds to verbal communication,” Lopez said.

Lopez said the healing of Ivler’s wounds could take seven to 10 days, while regaining complete function of the affected organs could take 30 to 40 days.

Lasala said wounded NBI SAU chief Magno was treated for a wound in the right thigh and was able to attend the NBI press conference yesterday afternoon. NBI agent Labao is also in stable condition and confined at the Manila Doctors Hospital after she sustained shrapnel wounds in the chest.

Roland Argabioso, head of the Field Operations Division of the NBI, said an informant went to the NBI two weeks ago and reported that Ivler could be hiding at the Blue Ridge house.

The NBI said the suspect was found hiding inside a storeroom at the basement of the house under the stairs.

“There was a special area inside the house that served as his hiding place,” said Lasala.

Government agents had previously failed to arrest Ivler after two previous raids at the Blue Ridge house last year.

Lasala said that after the two failed raids, Ivler thought it was already safe for him to stay at the house, thinking authorities would not return.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said Ivler’s arrest was a result of the sharing of intelligence information between the NBI and PNP.

“We are glad that he is now arrested. His arrest is the product of intensive intelligence gathering and sharing,” said Espina.

Housemaid gave vital information

A former housemaid of Ivler’s family played a key role in his arrest.

Ivler’s mother terminated the services of three of her five housemaids days after Ivler shot dead Ebarle Jr.

NBI agents were able to interview one of the dismissed housemaids who reported the “unusual” behavior of Aguilar in the days after the shooting incident that was played up in the media.

The housemaid whose identity was withheld, claimed that Aguilar hired several carpenters to renovate their house after Ebarle’s killing.

Aguilar also moved furniture from the living room and other parts of the house for unknown reason.

The housemaid also learned that Aguilar had ordered food for five to six persons when there are only three people left residing in the house.

The investigators could not send the housemaid back into the house since she was already dismissed and the NBI was prompted to serve the arrest warrant against Ivler, based on a “strong hunch” that the road rage suspect was hiding inside.

“The NBI had not established the presence of Ivler inside the house. Apparently Ivler panicked and opened fire exposing himself to the NBI raiders who immediately surrounded the house and engaged him in a shootout,” said a police official who monitored the NBI operation.

The police official said the NBI confirmed that the carpenters hired by Aguilar had constructed a new room at the house.

The extra food ordered by Aguilar was apparently intended for Ivler and his still unidentified girlfriend. Members of the NBI raiding team used ladders to climb the high concrete fence of the suspect’s house after the people inside refused to open the gate.

Aguilar started shouting when the agents barged into the house and began searching the house.

Quezon City Police District investigator Police Officer 3 Gregorio Maramag said Ivler eventually went out of his hiding place, carrying an AR-15 rifle and wearing a bandolier, and started shooting at the NBI agents who fired back at the suspect who was hit and disabled.

The suspect also yielded a .45 caliber pistol.

QMMC doctors said after Ivler’s surgery the suspect was transferred to another room that was secured by NBI agents.

Ivler ‘happy-go-lucky’

As if a testament to his decision not to give up without a fight, Ivler had a tattoo on the right side of his neck that says: Handang mamatay (ready to die).

A childhood friend, who identified himself only as Andrew, arrived at the hospital yesterday upon hearing news on TV about what had happened to Ivler. He said Ivler was a schoolmate at Brent School and was “happy-go-lucky as a child.”

He said that the last time he met Ivler was in 2003, Andrew said the Jason Ivler that he knew was the opposite of the one being portrayed in the media as the murder suspect.

“I don’t remember Jason being like that. I still can’t believe it,” he said.

Ivler was born in Massachusetts, USA on Jan. 7, 1982. Ivler was a former member of the US Army.

Records at the Firearms and Explosives Division (FED) of the PNP showed that he was not a licensed firearms holder.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) also insisted that Ivler, who sports a tattoo in his right arm, has an expired driver’s license.

Ebarle Jr.’s father, Renato Sr., had met top PNP officials last Jan. 14 who briefed him on the progress of the manhunt for the suspect.

The PNP formed tracker teams to arrest Ivler but they were beaten by the NBI.

Renato Sr. said the stepfather of his son’s killer, Stephen Pollard and other relatives and friends who helped Ivler hide from authorities, should also be charged with obstruction of justice.

“It’s a great day for me and my family. It’s a great relief for my children and my wife,” he told a news conference in Malacañang.

He said an aide of Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita woke him up at around 7:30 a.m. informing him of Ivler’s arrest.

“It is an answer to our prayers. Right after we learned of it, my wife, my children, cried and we thanked the Lord,” he said with tears in his eyes.

Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said the bureau is investigating the possible liability or culpability of other house helpers.

“We will have to finish the investigation so we will know if there is basis to warrant the filing of charges against the house helpers for obstruction of justice or not.”

Namesake expresses relief

Filipino worker Jason Aguilar, who was deported recently from Qatar after being mistaken for his namesake, expressed relief yesterday over the arrest of the real fugitive.

“He was happy and relieved about Ivler’s arrest,” said Susan Ople, head of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, following her conversation with the Filipino worker.

The Blas Ople Center, which has been helping Aguilar, welcomed the arrest of Ivler but called for public vigilance to make sure that justice is served.

Ople said Aguilar is still waiting for a certified public document that would help clear his name as a safeguard against any form of harassment in the future.

Aguilar, a Filipino welder, was deported from Qatar last December after he mistaken to be the fugitive Ivler.

“With Ivler’s arrest, things are slowly falling into place. Still, the mystery remains. What caused the wrongful arrest of Jason Aguilar by the Qatar police? On record, what set of fingerprints did the NBI and PCTC send to Interpol? Was it Jason’ or was it Ivler’s? And what will the government do to make sure that a similar case of mistaken identity would not happen again?” Ople said

She said Ivler’s mother Marlene should be held accountable for the damage rendered to victims’ families and to Jason.

“She hid him from law authorities even when it was reported that an innocent man was put in jail and eventually deported for a crime he was not even aware of. After learning about Jason Aguilar’s case, all she did was offer to pay his placement fee, as if money could solve everything. Her actions have led to a clear obstruction of justice and for that, she must also be held accountable,” Ople said. With Evelyn Macairan, Mike Frialde, Non Alquitran, Mayen Jaymalin, AP