The Philippines culture of impunity and a murderer, reports Tonyo Cruz and Asia Sentinel

After a gunfight in the exclusive Blue Ridge area of Manila, the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation arrested Jason Aguilar-Ivler, a fugitive Filipino-American and nephew of Filipino pop star Freddie Aguilar. Ivler is accused of killing the son of a high-level government official last November in a road rage incident. Ivler apparently was critically wounded in the gunfight, as were two NBI agents.

Ivler has been in hiding since November after he allegedly gunned down Renato Victor Ebarle Jr, the son of Undersecretary Renato Ebarle Sr., who works in the Office of the Presidential Chief of Staff.  According to witnesses, the younger Ebarle was chased down and shot after an argument because his car was in Ivler’s way.  

After murder charges were filed against Ivler, his photograph and details were distributed to all ports and airports to prevent him from escaping. He was described as “armed and dangerous.” In the gun battle, police said, Ivler was hit in the stomach, chest, shoulder and leg and was being treated at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center, where he was said to be in stable condition. NBI agents Anna Labao and Angelito Magno were also wounded, Labao hit in the chest and Magno in the thigh.

Ivler until now has led a privileged life of the kind that happens in Manila.  He is the stepson of Stephen Pollard, a British economist with the Asian Development Bank who is accused of sheltering the 28-year-old from a police manhunt in the wake of Ebarle’s shooting. The car Ivler was using when he allegedly shot Ebarle bore diplomatic plates traced to Pollard, who married Marlene Aguilar, Freddie Agular’s sister, and took on Ivler, Marlene’s son from a previous marriage.

“It’s a part of a bigger story on why people get away with murder in my beloved country,” said a Manila source. “It’s been this way for as long as I can remember and it’s largely due to culture and a poor justice system. It actually reminds me so much of Latin-American countries. There have been exceptions in the past – when it’s the good guys running the case, then there is justice, but it does take a very long time.”

Ivler was already wanted on charges of “reckless imprudence resulting in homicide” stemming from 2004 when, on holiday from Hawaiian Pacific University in Hawaii, he reportedly lost control of his vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser which also bore diplomatic plates belonging to his stepfather, and slammed into a car owned by Nestor Ponce Jr. Ponce, a presidential assistant for resettlement, was on his way with his family to the mountain community of Tagaytay for a religious gathering. Ponce was killed although his wife and the driver survived.    

Ivler was arrested in 2004 following the killing of Ponce while trying to flee to Malaysia in the company of a  police colonel and a chief inspector, according to reports.  However, he later jumped bail, officials said.  For six years, he was not rearrested on the homicide charge. 

In a radio interview, the senior Ebarle demanded that investigators seek to find out how Ivler’s mother, stepfather and uncle helped the suspect evade authorities. He also alleged that Ivler has an uncle in the national police who helped his nephew escape arrest on other charges. 

“I think this colonel should be investigated for giving aid and comfort to a fugitive,” Ebarle said. 

It appears, however, that the Philippines “culture of impunity,” as it is called, may finally have run out for Ivler, if not for his mother and his stepfather. It is a culture that at its most horrific resulted in the murder of 57 men and women, 30 of them journalists, in the province of Maguindanao last month. Andal Ampatuan Jr., the son of warlord Andal Ampatuan, who controlled Maguindanao, has been arrested as the ringleader of the crime along with scores of gunmen. The Ampatuans were close allies of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. There are already reports that the younger Ampatuan is held in a special jail cell and has access to his own meals and other privileges.  Many people are concerned in Manila that while Ampatuan may be found guilty, he will be given special treatment.

The National Bureau of Investigation warned that relatives and friends who had sheltered Ivler could face punishment.   Ivler’s mother, Marlene, earlier claimed that Ivler, a sometime resident of Hawaii, had fled the country, which prompted police to seek international help in an effort to capture him.  Jason Aguilar, who bore the same name, was arrested by authorities in December in Qatar and deported to the Philippines.  The case of mistaken identity angered the ranks of overseas Filipino workers. The Department of Foreign Affairs has vowed to work to clean Aguilar’s name so he could be able to return to his former post in Qatar. 

Thanks to Asia Sentinel for extra reporting