Fan made T-shirt designs are suggested by Jason Ivler fans on his Facebook page.

The arrest of erstwhile fugitive Jason Ivler several weeks days ago prompted a myriad of reactions from the public.

But while the general sentiment was one of relief at his dramatic entrapment and eventual capture, as well as disbelief at his mother’s theatrics and actions, there is surprisingly growing support for him online.

Just take Facebook for instance. Already there are several Facebook fan pages dedicated to the alleged murderer, with the leading fan page now boasting more than 12,000 members (as of this writing) and even T-shirt designs in support of Ivler! The group’s steadily growing online presence has also drawn its share of critics, who decry the support for the alleged road rage killer. Even Marlene Aguilar-Pollard, Ivler’s mother, participates in the discussions that occur on this online flashpoint.

And why wouldn’t she? Wall post after wall post – often in capital letters – Ivler’s fans voice messages of support and shoot down any dissenting opinion. The government is viewed with a wary eye and the media is considered untrustworthy. The group has recently even taken to banning “haters” who join the group to either heckle or lecture the fan page’s members.

Jason's rabid warrior

“Rp Vanity”, “Maje Manuel”, Jesuke Keren-Happuch Capuz, and Christine Syjie Viajante are four of Jason Ivler fans.

Vanity and Manuel are administrators of the Jason Ivler fan page. Capuz brands herself as the fan page’s “number one warrior,” while Viajante is a member. Not one of them knew of Ivler before the exposure he received from the media.

“I first saw him on the news. I thought that he was an interesting young man. How could he kill a government official at such a young age?” recalls Viajante. Vanity, Capuz, and Manuel say that they admire Ivler’s bravery, while Viajante expresses that she has doubts about the facts of Ivler’s case.

“The main reason why I became his fan in the first place is because there are confusions in my mind every time I see update and reports on him on TV. There are always questions left unanswered,”
she says.

The four also put up a united front when asked about whether they think Ivler is innocent of the charges leveled against him, invoking the maxim that a suspect is innocent until proven guilty.

“Inosente siya dahil wala pa namang nangyayaring pagdinig sa korte. Sabi ng mga anti-Ivler, kung inosente daw si Jason ay hindi daw siya magtatago at manlalaban sa mga pulis. Sa pananaw ko naman ay naisip na din ni Jason kung ano ang maaring mangyari sa kanya kapag siya ay sumuko lalo na’t bigating tao ang sinsabing napatay niya,” says Manuel.

Manuel even goes further to say that perhaps Ivler’s alleged victims had it coming. “Kung totoo man na ginawa niya nga ang kasalanan na iyon, tingin ko ay may ginawa ang tao na iyon kay Jason kaya siya pinatulan.”

Of course, taking such a controversial stand has resulted in more than a few enemies, both online and in the real world, but not one of them is backing down from their beliefs anytime soon.

“Takot lang nila, I’m the number one warrior sa fan page na ‘yun!” excaims Capuz. “Kanya kanyang buhay ‘to. Kung gusto namin maging fan ni Jason Ivler, wala silang paki. Ganun lang kasimple ‘yun.”

The group is certainly quick to shoot down any critic that musters up the courage to face the group’s thousand strong members. Pictures of “haters” are manipulated for maximum embarrassment, and homophobic and racist insults are part for the course. Even this reporter’s request for an interview was greeted with disbelief, taunting, and insults.

Free speech?

However, not all of these fans are in it to show support. Some are in it just for the opportunity to poke fun, and in a roundabout way, stand up for free speech. “Sentrei” is one such fan, and says that the same can be said for a lot of the fan pages members.

“For guys, to like someone who is considered a ‘bad person’ by the media is cool and funny. For girls, attracted sila sa looks ni Jason Ivler. And they know the difference between right and wrong and they know that Jason Ivler did something wrong,” says Sentrei. “But the page has drawn critics and good-two-shoes who try to convert these fans. Siyempre, we know it’s wrong to idolize Jason Ivler. We get irritated by these people.”

Sentrei admits to not even caring about Ivler all that much, saying that he has to pay for what he did, but relishes the opportunity to pile on people who try to impose their beliefs on the group.

“People who are polite and air their anti-Jason Ivler views in a nice way are respected by the forum. I don’t care about Jason Ivler but when I see a person’s anti-Jason comments and he’s being obnoxious, I feel like he’s fair game to be humiliated,” he says. “Tapos what happens is people see the funny pictures, laugh at them, and invite their friends to view the funny pics. That’s how the page has grown so quickly.”

‘’Vanity’’ even claims that becoming a part of this group has improved her for the better.

“Being a fan has helped me because I’ve gained confidence in myself. I speak out what is on my mind,” she says. “Haters joining the page don’t respect me and my co-fans’ opinions, but we don’t care. For us, they don’t exist.”