Clad in a light green duster and looking subdued when she was taken into custody by government agents Monday, Marlene Aguilar hardly evoked the daring image portrayed on her website.
In the website, she is described as a writer who has published at least 11 coffee table books on art and Philippine culture, and a novel titled “Warriors of Heaven.â€ÂÂ
The back cover of the novel carries a picture of Aguilar wearing only the butterfly sleeves of a Filipino terno, her long hair covering her left breast and her right hand cupping the other.
She also has two upcoming books, one of which, titled “Tales of the Black Widow,†features a semi-nude picture of her on the cover.
Day has changed
The day changed for Aguilar on Monday when government agents raided her house and arrested her American son, Jason Ivler, on murder charges. Ivler was wounded after a gun battle with the lawmen.
She herself was taken into custody, hustled off from her home to the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters.
On Monday night, she was brought for inquest to the Quezon City prosecutors office on charges of obstruction of justice and giving false statements.
Assistant City Prosecutor Alexander Jurado recommended bail of P12,000 but this had to be approved by Chief City Prosecutor Claro Arellano.
In shock
Four NBI agents who signed the complaint against Aguilar appeared before Jurado to affirm their affidavits.
Asked by reporters if she would post bail, Aguilar nodded, then said she was still in a state of shock.
NBI Special Action Unit (SAU) chief Angelito Magno told the Inquirer that when he talked to Aguilar after the shoot-out, she was quiet and only spoke to tell him that she did not know her son was in the house.
“She insisted that she did not know Ivler was in her house,†Magno remarked.
Earlier, pressed by reporters for comment on her and her son’s arrest, Aguilar said in a soft, pained voice: “Sorry. I’m still in a state of shock. My son is fighting for his life. That’s all (I want to say). I hope you understand.â€ÂÂ
In Hawaii
Her lawyers prevented reporters from asking more questions, saying that that was all Aguilar was going to say.
An NBI agent who requested anonymity expressed dismay at Aguilar’s refusal to cooperate with government agents when they came to arrest her son.
“She insisted Ivler... was in Hawaii,†the agent told the Inquirer.
Magno said the NBI suspected that Ivler had been staying at his mother’s house since a week after he allegedly killed Renato Victor Ebarle Jr., son of a Malacañang official, following a traffic incident.
“He could have been staying in his room and hid in the stockroom each time operatives from the police or NBI dropped by the house,†Magno said.
A father’s grief
“She came out in the media claiming that she received an e-mail from her son and that he was in Hawaii and she kept on assuring the bureau of her cooperation and denying knowledge of his whereabouts. These are already acts of obstructing justice,†Magno told reporters.
Palace Undersecretary Renato Ebarle Sr., father of the man Ivler is accused of killing, described as a “great relief†the arrest of Ivler and said he wanted him jailed “for a very long period of time.â€ÂÂ
Ebarle wanted authorities to also file obstruction of justice charges not only against Ivler’s mother but also against Ivler’s stepfather, Stephen Pollard, an economist at the Asian Development Bank, and relatives and friends who might have helped harbor him.
“This is a very good morning for me and my family,†Ebarle Sr. said in Filipino in a media briefing. “Definitely, this is an answered prayer.â€ÂÂ
Asked if he preferred that Ivler did not survive the shoot-out, he said: “That’s a difficult question.â€ÂÂ
“It’s up to our justice system,†he said. “We no longer have the death penalty, but at least he will serve his sentence there in the jail, I hope, for a very long period of time, the maximum period allowed by law.â€ÂÂ
Ebarle said he and his family had been waiting for Ivler’s arrest since Ivler shot and killed his only son over a minor traffic incident in Quezon City last Nov. 18.
A mother’s love
Ebarle said the fact that Ivler was arrested in his parents’ house showed they had been lying about his whereabouts.
“She (Aguilar) lied, not just to us, but to the authorities.â€ÂÂ
Ebarle did not buy the argument that Marlene acted blindly out of a mother’s love for her son.
“Sympathy for the mother of Ivler? What about my wife who lost her only son?†he asked. “You compare the person of my sonâ€â€Âwho never fired a gun or was involved in a fightâ€â€Âand that of Jason, the disparity is great.â€ÂÂ
Dreams
Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III said: “No amount of filial feelings can justify your hiding of a person who committed a crime, a very blatant crime.â€ÂÂ
“A good mother should advise her son to surrender to the authorities and face the consequences of his acts,†Ebarle said.
Ebarle said he and his family were still struggling to move forward.
He said he was once jolted awake from a dream that he was embracing his son like he was still alive. In the dream, he said he asked one of his daughters to record his son’s presence on video, but his son’s image faded.
Ebarle Jr. also appeared in one of his sister’s dream, telling her he was “really happy where I am now.†But the sister recalled her brother shedding a tear when told that their father was still “agonizing.â€ÂÂ
“Sometimes when I wake up, I still entertain the idea, the thought that he’s just there in the other room,†he said. “But then, he’s really gone and I have to accept it.â€ÂÂ
via Inq
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