Jason Ivler gets life for road rage murder

MANILA, Philippines - A Quezon City court has sentenced Jason Ivler to life in prison for killing the son of a former Malacañang official in a road rage incident six years ago.

Judge Luisito Cortez of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 84 sentenced Ivler to serve up to 40 years in prison with no eligibility for parole.

The judge found Ivler guilty of killing Renato Ebarle Jr., son of former presidential chief of staff Renato Ebarle Sr., after a six-year trial.

The court ordered Ivler to pay the victim’s family more than P9.3 million in moral, civil and exemplary damages.

Ivler’s uncle, folk singer Freddie Aguilar, attended the promulgation of the case.

Aguilar said he respected the court’s decision but stressed the right of his nephew to appeal to a higher court.

Ivler’s mother, Marlene Aguilar, did not show up.

Ivler shot Ebarle in a traffic altercation along Santolan Road, Quezon City on Nov. 18, 2009. 

In a 48-page ruling, Cortez said the prosecution was able to prove Ivler’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge noted that two witnesses, Senior Police Officer 3 Edgar Tiodin and bystander Archie Castillo, identified the accused as the one who shot the victim.

Cortez said the bullets recovered at the crime scene matched the gun seized in the house of Ivler’s mother, where he was arrested two months after the incident.

Weak alibi

In his ruling, the judge said the alibi of Ivler, who said that he was not at the crime scene when the shooting happened, was weak compared to the testimonies of the witnesses.

Ivler denied that he shot Ebarle, saying he was at a party in Makati at the time. He also presented evidence supposedly showing that his mother’s bodyguard closely resembles the description of the shooter, as provided by the eyewitnesses.

The National Bureau of Investigation arrested Ivler in his mother’s house in Quezon City on Jan. 18, 2010. He was wounded in a firefight with NBI agents.

At least 16 police officers brought Ivler out of the courtroom after the verdict was handed down.

He was transferred to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City yesterday.

NBP spokesman Monsignor Roberto Olaguer said Ivler arrived at the national penitentiary at around 4 p.m. – With Perseus Echeminada