N.B. – This was published in Asian Correspondent (January 18, 2:45 p.m.) where I write a weekly column (Philippine Fantasy).
Filipino-American Jason Ivler now stands trial for the November 18 murder of the son of an undersecretary after his arrest this morning (January 18), exactly two months after the crime of which he is the suspect.
The presence of media during the raid on his house in Quezon City apparently helped in ensuring that everything is done by the book. Ivler reportedly engaged elements of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in a shootout, resulting in the wounding of two NBI agents and Ivler himself who had to be operated on at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center. While the two NBI agents are already out of danger, there were reports that Ivler was initially in critical condition but is now stable as of this writing.
No journalists were reportedly injured during the gunfight. TV camera people managed to get footage of the ensuing gunbattle and TV and radio journalists immediately reported the event as latebreaking news. Concerned social media account users also posted the news about Ivler’s arrest in social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
That public interest on the issue has not waned since November 18 may be attributed to the media’s reportage of related events, particularly the detention in Qatar and deportation of first-time overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Jason Aguilar who was mistaken to be Ivler. Public opinion was on the side of Aguilar as he became an unwitting victim to Ivler’s decision to go into hiding, as well as the slow response of the Philippine government to clear Aguilar’s name and to give him the necessary support while incarcerated. It wasn’t Aguilar’s intention to be in the limelight but he indirectly helped in fueling public interest, not to mention public anger, on his fugitive namesake Jason Aguilar Ivler.
In the interest of objectivity, media organizations are expected to continue publishing or airing Ivler’s side, in the same way that his mother Marlene Aguilar’s much-quoted appeal for him to surrender if he is indeed guilty, as well as the claim that Ivler sent an email to her stating that he has already fled to the United States, were duly noted by the media.
Probing questions, however, must be asked not only to Ivler and his relatives but also to the concerned government agencies. The challenge also remains for media organizations to properly analyze the issue in the context not of the culture of impunity that prevails among the rich and powerful like the Aguilar-Ivler family.
- How was Ivler able to evade arrest from 2004 to early 2010 when he was a suspect in a vehicular accident that killed presidential adviser on resettlement Nestor Ponce?
- Why were the two police officers (one of them Ivler’s relative) who escorted Ivler as he attempted to board a ship going to Malaysia in 2004 not charged criminally? Why is it that they were cleared for “failure to prosecute” when they were charged administratively? Why are they still on active duty?
- Did Ivler have a valid driver’s license when he was allegedly involved in a road rage that led to the November 18 murder of Renato Ebarle, Jr.? If so, how was he able to get a valid driver’s license?
- Given that Ivler reportedly does not have any firearms registered in his name, how was he able to get hold of high-powered firearms and armor-piercing bullets that he used against NBI agents? Who owns these firearms?
If media could provide answers to these questions, the public will greatly benefit from the information as they can better contextualize the crime as not an isolated incident done by a spoiled rich kid but a reflection of the kind of culture existing in the Philippine elite.