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Marlene Aguilar says son has no regrets

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MANILA, Philippines - Jason Aguilar Ivler's mother has sought the help of the US embassy and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in probing possible human rights violations committed by authorities in her son's arrest last Monday.

Marlene Aguilar-Pollard, who is facing obstruction of justice charges for hiding her son, said the US embassy in Manila is set to step in on the case after sending some papers to her for Jason to sign.

"We will draft a petition urging the US embassy to do everything in its power [to help us]," she told reporters on Thursday.

She also sought the help of the CHR in investigating possible human rights violations during Ivler's arrest last Monday.

She claimed that NBI agents kicked his son in his abdomen even if Ivler was already immobile after suffering a gunshot wound in his stomach.

Ivler, a former US Infantryman allegedly involved in the killing of the son of Presidential Chief of Staff Undersecretary Renato Ebarle Sr., has no regrets about his life and will not apologize to any of his alleged victims.

Aguilar said Ivler is recuperating slowly after he was shot twice by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) operatives last Monday.

Doctors said Ivler can now drink liquids and will be transferred to a regular hospital room before the week ends.

Aguilar also said that Ivler's popularity has slightly grown and even boasted that a Facebook fan club for Jason now has 1,000 members.

Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, meanwhile, said Ivler cannot escape prosecution under the country’s legal system even though he is an American citizen.

Devanadera told reporters that Ivler’s citizenship and the criminal charges filed against him are two different things, and that US embassy officials usually do not meddle in criminal proceedings involving their nationals.

“We do not discount the fact that the usual thing that happens is that the Embassy always make representation on behalf of those incarcerated but only insofar as their security is concern,” she said.

Ballistic tests match

The 27-year-old Ivler, who was on board a car with diplomatic license plates, allegedly shot dead Renato Victor Ebarle Jr. on November 18 during a traffic altercation. He faces murder raps before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.

Prior to the incident, he was already wanted for the killing of Presidential Assistant Undersecretary Nestor Ponce in a traffic accident in 2004. Ivler’s car sideswiped Ponce’s car at the Ortigas Flyover in Mandaluyong City, which resulted in Ponce's death.

Ivler was arrested after a bloody shootout at his mother's house in Quezon City last Monday. The National Bureau of Investigation said it will file charges against Ivler for wounding two arresting officers during the shootout.

The NBI also released Thursday results of the ballistic tests on Ivler's handgun, which he used during Monday's shootout.

The tests showed that the bullet taken from the body of Ebarle Jr., the bullets found and taken by police from the vehicle of Ebarle Jr. last November 18 , and the bullets found in the residence of Ivler's mother in Blue Ridge, Quezon City matched with the test bullets from the Kimber .45 caliber pistol recovered from Ivler during the encounter.

'God wanted him to survive'

Ivler's mother, meanwhile, continued to protest her son's innocence, including the 2004 accident that killed Ponce.

She said that in 2004, the police ganged up on her son despite failing to prove that he was indeed driving the Toyota Prado Land Cruiser that rammed Ponce's car.

"Jason doesn't regret anything about his life. Jason is not like any human being. He did not cause it. He was hit from behind, that's why. He was coming in this direction and the other car was coming in the other direction and he was hit from behind. To the best of my knowledge, there was a truck trying to avoid him that rammed into this Isuzu Trooper," she told reporters.

"The police did not investigate properly. There are lawsuits stll going on," she said.

Aguilar said that after Ivler's arrest in 2004, he told her: "Mom, there is nothing they can do to me to touch who I am within. Nothing touches who I am within. The only way that people out there can hurt me is when I see you in pain."

It was this statement that Aguilar took to heart when she saw the NBI agents shooting at her son at her home last Monday. She said that after the incident, she talked to her son who told her that he wanted the NBI agents to kill him.

"People are asking why I didn't cry that morning, why I was quiet. I know Jason...The only thing that can ever harm him is when he sees me hurt so I kept myself together despite bullets flying everywhere because my weakness might be his weakness," she said.

She also noted that Ivler's continued survival was proof that God still wanted him alive.

"Jason has gone to Iraq. He has taken the most dangerous positions while in Iraq. So many times he could have died and so many times I have accepted his death and he is still alive. At the end of the day, it is God who decides who lives or dies. I mean I saw Jason walking toward the guns. I saw him charging forward. He accepted his death and he is still alive. That is the will of God," she said.

Aguilar's conspiracy theories

Aguilar also said that Ivler is one of the best soldiers in America, which could account for why he was able to hide in her house for the past 2 months without her knowledge. She added that policemen had gone to her house twice but didn't find Ivler there.

"Jason is one of the best soldiers of America. The only soldiers better than Jason would be members of Delta Force...He is a member of the Special Ops, he can go in and out of the house," she said.

She also revealed that the launch of her two novels, Tales of the Black Widow and Warriors of Heaven, might have had something to do with Ivler's alleged shooting and the massacre of 57 civilians in Ampatuan, Maguindanao last November 23.

"I have written two novels writing about espionage and the ugliness of America's killing machine. Three days before my book launching, my son is supposed to be involved in a shooting incident and then two days later, there's massacre in Mindanao. I think it's connected," she claimed.

She added that she was able to speak to Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. while she was incarcerated at the NBI.

"I met the mayor from Ampatuan who was very, very kind to me. He's a very kind man. I hope that the media doesn't condemn him before trial. He's innocent until proven guilty. He's a very kind man," she said.