Philippine police search for American suspected of killing presidential staffer’s son

Philippine police search for US suspect

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine police searched for an American who escaped after allegedly killing a government official’s son in a road-rage shooting — the second homicide case against him, officials said Monday.

Jason Ivler, 28, from Hawaii, was identified by witnesses as a driver involved in a traffic accident in Manila on Wednesday. It led to a heated argument during which Ivler allegedly chased and shot to death another driver, Renato Victor Ebarle Jr., said police Chief Superintendent Elmo G. San Diego.

Ebarle’s father, an official at the Office of President Gloria Mapacagal Arroyo, filed a murder complaint against Ivler. The prosecutor will review the complaint before filing formal charges.

At the time, Ivler was driving a car with diplomatic plates owned by his stepfather, Stephen Pollard, an executive at the Asian Development Bank, San Diego said.

Pollard’s diplomatic immunity did not extend to his son, said national police chief Jesus Verzosa, adding Ivler’s photograph and details were distributed to all ports and airports to prevent him from escaping. He was described as “armed and dangerous.”

Even before the latest incident, police were looking for Ivler on a separate charge of “reckless imprudence resulting in homicide” in connection with a 2004 car crash that killed a senior official in the president’s office, Verzosa said.

Ivler was arrested in 2004 while trying to flee to Malaysia but later jumped bail, Verzosa said.

Ivler’s mother, Marlene Aguilar, sister of popular singer Freddy Aguilar, made a tearful TV appeal for her son to surrender to police.