Palace exec's son shot dead in traffic row

MANILA, Philippines - A son of a Malacañang executive was shot dead by a man driving a sports utility vehicle (SUV) with diplomatic plates following what appeared to be a traffic altercation in Quezon City Wednesday night.

Renato Victor Ebarle Jr., 27, died of gunshot wounds in the chest and both arms. The victim, who was a recruitment officer of Manila Peninsula, was the son of Presidential Chief of Staff Undersecretary Renato Ebarle Sr.

The incident happened at around 11:10 p.m. along Santolan Road near the corner of Ortigas Avenue in Barangay Valencia.

Senior Police Officer 2 Edgar Tiodin, who was driving his Isuzu Crosswind along Santolan Road, told investigators he saw the younger Ebarle and his attacker seemingly having an altercation on the road while in their vehicles.

Upon reaching an area near the corner of Ortigas Avenue, Tiodin said he saw the attacker’s SUV – with diplomatic plate 20903 – block the path of Ebarle’s blue Toyota Land Cruiser.

After this, the attacker reportedly got out of the vehicle, drew a handgun and shot Ebarle thrice. The killer then went back to his SUV and sped off toward San Juan City.

Tiodin attempted to go after the SUV until the vehicle entered New Manila Village and disappeared.

He described Ebarle’s killer as a foreign national aged 25 to 30 years old, about 5’8” in height, bald, and with a tattoo on his right arm.

Superintendent Lino Banaag, head of the Quezon City Police District-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU), said Highway Patrol Group records show the plate number is registered to British national Staphen Pollard, said to reside along ADB Avenue in Mandaluyong City. Records from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), however, spelled Pollard’s first name as Stephen.

“We would like to contact him (Pollard) to find out if he was the one driving the SUV that night or somebody else had used it for us to determine the identity of the one responsible for the killing,” Banaag said in an interview.

Reacting to earlier reports that Pollard is a British diplomat, Colin Crorkin, deputy chief of mission at the British embassy, said “nobody at the British embassy has been involved in any violent road rage incident.”

Investigators said DFA data show that Pollard is a diplomat working for the Asian Development Bank (ADB), said Chief Inspector Benjamin Elenzano, deputy head of the QCPD-CIDU.

The ADB called the shooting a “serious and tragic incident,” but said it did not involve any of its personnel.

“Given that the matter is currently under police investigation, ADB is unable to make any comment on the issue,” Ann Quon, principal director of the ADB’s external relations department, said in a statement.

“Based on the information available so far, we do not believe that ADB staff was involved in the incident,” Quon added.

Reports indicate that the vehicle with diplomatic plate 20903 was issued to the ADB, which assigned it to one Stephen Pollard.

The ADB has in its employ British citizen Stephen Pollard, principal economist for its Pacific Department. Sources said Pollard is more than 50 years old. It was not immediately known if Pollard has a driver.

Pollard is married to Marlene Aguilar, sister of musician Freddie Aguilar. Marlene has a son by a previous marriage, and this son was reportedly involved in a shooting incident with another Malacañang official.   – With Ted Torres