Doc examines Jason Ivler, finds him logged on Facebook

The family of road rage suspect Jason Ivler has repeatedly insisted he should remain confined in a Quezon City hospital because he has yet to fully recover from a gunshot wound he sustained when he was arrested last January. But when Dr. Enrico Ragaza visited him, the doctor — tasked by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct an independent medical test on the suspect — caught him in front of a computer and logged on to a social networking site. This was one of the reasons State prosecutor Maria Cristina Rilloraza cited to reporters at the Quezon City Hall of Justice on Friday to show that Ivler's condition has already improved. "When Ragaza visited him for examination nagfa-Facebook siya (he was on Facebook). He can easily go to Facebook," said Rilloraza after the hearing of Ivler's murder charges before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 76. She said their omnibus motion to have Ivler transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila should be "urgently" granted because the road rage suspect seemed to be "only acting it out there" at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC). Ivler is accused of killing Renato Victor Ebarle Jr. in a case of road rage on November 18, 2009. Ivler went into hiding after the incident, but was later found holed up in their Quezon City home. He was hurt when he shot it out with arresting NBI agents. Rilloraza said results of medical examinations should not be the sole basis to conclude whether a wounded individual has already regained his strength. "There are other ways to determine whether Ivler has a fully improved condition," said Rilloraza, adding that activities a person does inside his hospital room can also indicate his well-being. According to Rilloraza, apart from a computer, Ivler also has a PlayStation Portable (PSP) and a cellphone in his room. She even stressed that the games contained in Ivler's PSP were mostly war games. "Kapag ang video games ay military, kailangan ito ng focus, concentration and good and quick reflexes. May ganyan ka ba kapag may sakit ka?" she said. (Playing a war-themed game requires focus and concentration, as well as good and quick reflexes. Can you play games like that when you are sick?) Rillaroza criticized the treatment Ivler is receiving while at the QMMC. “These privileges are not available to all accused of criminal cases in all detention cells," she said. "He's not simply a patient there at the QMMC. He is an accused of a criminal case, not of a simple case but of a capitol case," she reminded. Battle of doctors But Lawyer Mitzhell Arthur Magdaong, representing Ivler, insisted his client has yet to recuperate, adding all their camp wanted was for him to be able to "actively participate" in the proceedings. "He has rights. He's just an accused. He is not yet convicted. He should enjoy all privileges of [ordinary] citizens... He has to have a comfortable living," he said. During Friday's hearing, Ivler's camp questioned the medical examination conducted by Ragaza on Ivler, saying the court has "not yet even established the expertise of this doctor." Ragaza is the chairman of the Department of Surgery of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute and a fellow of the Philippine Society of Colorectal Surgeons. Still, Judge Alexander Balut ordered Ragaza to show up on the next hearing on March 23 to elaborate on his findings. In the medical certificate he earlier issued, Ragaza said Ivler's wound could be attended to even without his continued stay at the QMMC. Magdaong said they would also be presenting in court Ivler's personal physician on the same date "to rebut" Ragaza's findings. "This is going to be a battle between opinions of doctors." Magdaong insisted Ivler should not yet be taken out of the QMMC because of the open wound on his abdomen — from which a tube is connected to a colostomy bag. “What if he dies? Can the prosecution answer [for] that?" Magdaong said, adding that he does not think that the NBI has enough facilities to address Ivler’s medical needs. Judge Balut initially gave the defense three days to file a comment to the prosecution's motion to transfer Ivler to the custody of the NBI in Manila. But Magdaong requested the deadline to be extended saying, "We are not as brilliant. We don't control the time of our doctors. We can't command them to do things hastily [so we can come up with our comment]." The prosecution said the move was just a dilatory tactic, but the Judge ended up heeding the defense's request and gave them seven days to prepare its comment. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV