MANILA (Updated, 9:50 p.m.) – The suspect in the death of a son of a Malacañang official in a road-rage shooting was critically wounded Monday when he opened fire at police officers trying to arrest him, officials said.
Two agents of the National Bureau of Investigation were wounded when authorities swooped down Jason Ivler’s parents’ house in Quezon City, triggering a shootout with the suspect.
Ivler was hiding in the basement of the house located Blue Ridge A subdivision in Quezon City, said NBI spokesman Ricardo Diaz.
Ivler was arrested and taken to a hospital in critical condition, police said. He was undergoing surgery.
Ivler, 28, from Hawaii, is accused of fatally shooting Renato Victor Ebarle Jr., son of Undersecretary Renato Ebarle Sr., following an argument during a traffic altercation in November 18, 2009 in Manila.
Even before that, police were looking for Ivler on a separate homicide charge in connection with a 2004 car crash that killed Nestor Ponce, a senior Malacañang official.
The two NBI agents who were hurt in the shootout were Ana Labao of the agency’s intelligence service division and lawyer Antolino Magno of the special action unit.
Following the November incident, authorities offered a P1 million reward for Ivler's capture and began a manhunt, even as his mother claimed he had fled to Hawaii.
The mother, Marlene Aguillar-Pollard, sister of popular Filipino singer Freddy Aguilar, was taken into custody Monday for obstruction of justice, police said. (AP/Sunnex)
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