Ivler transferred to Camp Bagong Diwa jail

MANILA, Philippines -  Road rage murder suspect Jason Ivler was transferred yesterday afternoon to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City amid allegations that he was accorded special treatment in the Quezon City Jail.

Senior Inspector Joel Calimbo, Metro Manila District Jail (MMDJ) officer-in-charge, told reporters that Ivler arrived about 3:15 p.m. on board a prison van and was accompanied by seven escorts.

Calimbo said, as part of their protocol, Ivler will be “isolated” in their special intensive care area prohibited from receiving visitors for two weeks.

“He will be temporarily isolated while his cell is being prepared,” Calimbo said, adding Ivler was “quiet” when he arrived.

Ivler’s transfer stemmed from an order of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge Bayani Vargas, who granted the requests of the prosecution and the city jail’s new warden.

Ivler’s mother, Marlene Aguilar, arrived at the MMDJ an hour after her son’s transfer. She was smiling and said she was “happy” that her son was finally removed from the “congested” city jail.

She said she was informed of the transfer order 30 minutes before Ivler was brought to Taguig. Her mood, however, changed after the MMDJ guards refused to let her visit Ivler, citing their two-week isolation protocol.

“You cannot prohibit me from visiting my son. There’s no law that says I cannot see him,” Aguilar stressed, even as she cited Ivler’s medical condition.

“But that’s our protocol here, ma’am. They have to be isolated first,” said Calimbo.

Calimbo repeatedly explained their rules but Aguilar insisted. At one point, she even challenged the jail guards to a fistfight because they were asking her to wait outside for their warden.

Sources said Aguilar was reportedly allowed to see her son despite the isolation protocol after she talked to the MMDJ warden.

Bureau of Jail Management and Penologydirector Rosendo Dial said the MMDJ will observe normal security measures even after Ivler’s transfer.

Ivler is being tried for allegedly killing Renato Ebarle Jr., a son of a former Malacañang official, during a traffic altercation on Nov. 18, 2009. – With Michael Punongbayan, Cecille Suerte Felipe