Court orders Ivler's transfer to QC jail

A Quezon City court has ordered the discharge of road murder suspect Jason Ivler from the hospital and his transfer to a detention cell at the the Quezon City jail. The order, dated April 5, was penned by Judge Alexander Balut of the QC Regional Trial Court Branch 76, favoring the prosecution's argument that Ivler was already fit to be moved out of the Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC). Ivler is accused of killing Renato Victor Ebarle Jr., son of a Malacañang official, in a road-rage killing incident on November 18, 2009. He went into hiding but was later arrested in his house in Quezon City after shooting it out with agents from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Ivler was confined at the QMMC after sustaining a gunshot wound in his abdomen. His family has been insisting on his continued stay in the hospital. Claiming that Ivler had already recovered, prosecutors had asked Balut to order his transfer. A court staff told GMANews.TV over the phone that QC-RTC sheriff Andrew Alviar has already furnished the NBI a copy of the order and was on his way to the QMMC to deliver another copy. At a hearing last March 30, Ivler's attending physician Dr. Romeo Abary said his patient was already "capable" of leaving the medical facility, adding that his wound was "healing well" and was already "at the skin level." The prosecution had noted in one of the hearings that Ivler was caught surfing the Internet before one of his medical examinations, adding that the suspect even had a PlayStation Portable (PSP), a gaming gadget, and a mobile phone. These show that Ivler had already recovered from his wounds, State prosecutor Maria Cristina Rilloraza earlier said. [See: Doc examines Jason Ivler, finds him logged on Facebook] The prosecution had been eyeing Ivler's transfer to the NBI headquarters in Manila but Balut decided that the suspect should be detained in Quezon City. Torture The defense had maintained that the NBI does not have the necessary facility to attend to Ivler's medical needs, and said bringing him there would only aggravate the suspect's condition. Ivler's legal counsel Alex Medina told GMANews.TV over the phone that they would be filing a motion for reconsideration. "Judge Balut might have been misinformed. The decision has no factual and legal basis," Medina said. "It is unfortunate that given Ivler's physical condition, he would still be transferred to a city jail. That is tantamount to torture," he added. In stressing that his client was still not physically fit to be taken out of the hospital, Medina said Ivler still has a colostomy bag connected to his abdomen. He said doctors are planning to perform another surgery on Ivler in May to "reverse" the colostomy bag. Medina insisted that the Quezon City neither had the facility nor the competence to ensure that Ivler's health is not compromised. "His transfer would only endanger the physical well being of my client," he said. NBI agents, cops troop to QMMC A television report on QTV's Balitanghali said members of the Quezon City Police District had already arrived at the QMMC to fetch Ivler, while NBI agents were on their way to the hospital to also escort him to jail. After learning about the court order, Ivler's mother Marlene Aguilar threatened to take to the streets and protest the "human rights violation" that would arise from her son's transfer to a city jail. She vowed to march from their house in Quezon City to the QC-RTC everyday to protest the decision of the court. — LBG, GMANews.TV