MANILA -- The mother of suspected murderer Jason Ivler will be subjected to drug tests by the probe bureau after traces of marijuana were found inside her house in Quezon City.
Marlene Aguilar, who is married to a British economist of the Asian Development Bank and sister of folk singer Freddie Aguilar, was earlier charged with obstruction of justice for coddling Ivler, who was wanted for killing a government official’s son in a traffic altercation last year.
She was arrested along with her son, Ivler, last Monday, January 18, but was released from the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after posting P12,000 bail on charges of obstruction of justice.
Lawyer Angelito Magno, chief of NBI-Special Action Unit (SAU), said that aside from the M.16 rifle and .45 caliber pistol recovered from Ivler, the operatives who swooped down the house of Aguilar at No. 23 Hillside Avenue, Blue Ridge Subdivision, Quezon City also found traces of marijuana inside the residence.
He said they are waiting for the result of the test conducted by the NBI Laboratory on the suspected marijuana.
Magno, who was wounded in the right thigh during the operation, said they are also readying the filing of additional charges of resisting arrest and assault upon person in authority.
He said they would subject the firearms recovered from Ivler for ballistic tests to determine if these were the same weapons used in shooting down Renato Victor Ebarle Jr., son of Presidential Chief of Staff Undersecretary Renato Ebarle Sr., on November 18 during a traffic altercation in Quezon City.
On Tuesday, Aguilar, who was earlier detained at the NBI jail after an inquest proceeding at the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office, was released from prison after her lawyer Mitzell Arthur Christian Magdaong posted bail in her behalf.
Judge Joel Lucasan, of Manila Metropolitan Trial Court (MTC) Branch 27, signed the release order at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
“Attorney Magdaong went to the Manila MTC in behalf of Aguilar after getting the copy of information from the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) where the case for obstruction for justice against Aguilar was filed,” lawyer Alexis Medina, another lawyer of Aguilar, told reporters at the NBI compound.
From Quezon City RTC, Medina said Magdaong proceeded to Manila MTC around 6 p.m. for the posting of bail.
Deputy Director for Intelligence Services lawyer Ruel Lasala said the NBI already readied the process for Aguilar’s release from the probe bureau’s jail, and as part of the regular routine, Aguilar has undergone medical check-up late Tuesday afternoon.
“This is routine. There is need for medical check-up to show that she is in good health when we release her after the posting of bail,” Lasala said.
Aguilar was brought to NBI headquarters following Monday’s operation as she gave misleading information as to the whereabouts of his son and deliberately concealed him from the arms of the law, in violation of Presidential Decree (PD) 1829.
Magno said Aguilar earlier told the authorities that her son was in Hawaii after she received an email from him, but the NBI did not believe her and insisted that Ivler is still in the country.
The NBI, however, said Tuesday that Aguilar could not be charged under the Revised Penal Code regarding the provision of harboring criminal because it would not apply to her, being the mother of the suspect.
The probe bureau did not include house helpers identified as Requiel Faburada and Anthony Espolon in the charge sheet. The two were also brought for questioning following Ivler’s arrest on Monday. (JCV/With PNA/Sunnex)