MANILA–The recent case against Jason Ivler–whose stepfather is an official of the Asian Development Bank–recently sparked a word war among his “fans” and users of Facebook, an online social community site.
Jason Aguilar Ivler, who figured in a road rage incident where Renato Victor Ebarle Jr. was killed, figured in a shootout with National Bureau of Investigations (NBI) agents in his posh home where his mother, Marlene Aguilar, allegedly hid her for the last three weeks. He is now under treatment for gunshot wounds at the Quirino Medical Center. In the armed encounter, two NBI agents were shot by Ivler before he surrendered to the raiding team.
Marlene Aguilar is the sister of Filipino folk singer Freddie Aguilar.
As of this writing, the young Ivler’s Facebook site boasts of nearly 5,000 “fans”, some of whom, like Brian Estrada who claims he is a close friend, wants the authorities to free Ivler. His reason points to media being unfair in the treatment of the Ivler road-rage case.
“Ivler is my good friend,” Estrada says in an interview. “The reason why I believe that he should be freed is because I truly believe that the Philippines has had a hand in making him the so-called monster that he’s being called. The media and blogger’s created him as a ‘monster’ to sell newspapers or to get ratings. From the very beginning he was always a suspect but the media had portrayed him as someone that was guilty before proven innocent. He might have been the suspect in the incident but he’s also a victim as far as how corruption in the country has gone the way it has.”
He goes on to say that Jason Ivler’s case is really just one in many cases that should get the attention of the authorities.
“Yes, I do believe that there should be justice for the Ebarle family,” Estrada continues. “However, why are we not considering the other deaths that go unacknowledged. What about justice for the victims of the Ampatuans who were brutally murdered? There is a way bigger problem going on in the Philippines than one suspects.”
Mimi Evardone Gebilaguin, another Facebook user, posits a seemingly poignant argument to explain away Ivler’s psychological condition: The suspect’s supposed war experience as a former member of the US armed forces.
“I don’t know him enough and neither am I a psychologist to rule out the possibility that he’s just a spoiled kid with nothing better to do,” Gebilaguin says in an interview. “But I have heard of many soldiers going through post-war issues and we have to consider that. It’s not only on TV, but also in books and in the news. When you see too much blood, too much violence, it has got to have some effect on you, right? When we google post-war syndromes, a lot of names would come up, not just Jason’s.”
Rebecca Reyes, on the other hand, who is one of the most outspoken among the Facebook users on the Ivler case, begs to disagree.
“I actually have no relation to the Ebarle family,” she says. “I just find it disturbing that a lot of Filipinos idolize this piece of _____ who has no respect for the value of life. It tells a lot about Filipino society wherein good looks and money will gain you more respect compared to someone who’s honest and principled. I feel that it’s my duty as a concerned citizen and human being to show these fans that their support for Ivler should not be tolerated.”
Janette Swanfold, meanwhile, stresses that such support for Jason Ivler is blind, sans any consideration for the victim and other victims of senseless crimes like road rage.
“I have a relative in Manila who was a victim of a senseless crime. The husband of my aunt was shot by an unknown man due to traffic related issues. But in the interest of privacy, it would be better not to reveal the details,” Swanfold says.
Online community sites such as Facebook have recently been a popular venue for Filipinos to express their sentiments on various political and personal issues.
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