MANILA, Philippines??I?ll take bullets for him.?

This was the reply of the mother of road rage suspect Jason Ivler when asked if, given another chance, she would still hide her son from the law.

Two hours after posting bail, Marlene Aguilar arrived at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC) in Quezon City at around 9:20 Tuesday night to see her wounded son for the first time.

?Whatever Jason did, whatever they call him?they called him a monster?and even if the world will condemn him, I will love him just the same,? Aguilar told the Inquirer.

Accompanied by British husband Stephen Pollard, Aguilar stayed at the hospital for just 10 minutes. She said Jason was asleep when she arrived.

Aguilar was charged with obstruction of justice at the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Tuesday afternoon for lying to authorities about the whereabouts of Ivler, 27, an American national who had been wanted since November for the fatal shooting of the son and namesake of Undersecretary Renato Ebarle Sr.

Ivler was arrested early on Monday at his mother?s house in Blue Ridge subdivision, Quezon City, after a brief shoot-out with operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation.

Aguilar?s lawyer Arthur Magdaong posted the P12,000 bail at the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 27 at 7 p.m., and Judge Joel Lucasan ordered her release from NBI custody.

According to the criminal information approved late Tuesday afternoon by the Quezon City Prosecutors? Office, Aguilar ?impeded, frustrated or delayed the apprehension of her son by harboring, concealing, facilitating his escape and giving false or fabricated information to mislead or prevent law enforcers from apprehending [him] and to prevent his arrest, prosecution and conviction.?

Aguilar, the sister of popular folk singer Freddie Aguilar, was also said to have ?reasonable ground to believe or suspect that her son has committed the offenses filed against him.?

The case is expected to be raffled off next week to any of the branches of the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court.

Drug, paraffin tests

Ivler remained in the intensive care unit of the QMMC, where he was taken with two gunshot wounds in the spleen and the large intestine.

He was administered drug and paraffin tests by NBI agents on Monday night.

NBI deputy director for investigation Rickson Chiong said the tests were ?standard operating procedure for arrested suspects in shooting incidents.? He said the results would be known within the week.

The tests were announced earlier on Monday by Dr. Fernando Lopez, chair of the QMMC surgery department, in a briefing for reporters at the hospital?s third floor lobby.

Lopez on Tuesday said that except for another blood transfusion, no new procedure had been performed on Ivler.

He said the patient?s condition had improved.

?Although he is still sleeping most of the time, his vital signs are stabilizing. But he is not completely out of danger. The threat of infection is still possible,? the doctor said.

Lopez also described Ivler as calmer: ?He is still under restraint, but he has been cooperative.?

Possible transfer

Asked about a possible request of transfer from Ivler?s family, Lopez said the patient was fit to be moved to another hospital.

?We are well-equipped to provide him medical treatment for his needs, but it?s up to the relatives to decide if he will be transferred or not,? Lopez said.

When asked to comment on the matter, Chiong said the NBI would likely grant a request from the family.

?We will not oppose it, but we will suggest a hospital closer to the NBI headquarters [in Manila],? he said.

Lopez also said the bill for Ivler?s hospitalization?more than P31,000 as of Monday evening?should be paid by his family.

?The family has to pay because it?s obvious they are not a charity case,? Lopez replied when asked who would shoulder the patient?s hospital expenses.

Among Ivler?s visitors Tuesday was his cousin Maegan Aguilar, a singer like her father.

Chiong told reporters that Pollard, an economist at the Asian Development Bank, was not at the Blue Ridge house he shared with Aguilar when the NBI raid was conducted.

Pollard, Ivler?s stepfather, is the registered owner of the sport utility vehicle driven by Ivler when he allegedly shot and killed Renato Ebarle Jr. in a traffic altercation on Santolan Road in Quezon City on Nov. 18, 2009.

Chiong said the NBI had yet to decide if Pollard would also be charged with obstruction of justice along with his wife Marlene Aguilar.

?We will eventually investigate him on the extent of his knowledge of Ivler hiding in their house while being hunted by various law enforcers,? Chiong said.

But at the moment, ?we want to focus on Marlene first, as she is the obvious participant in the harboring of Ivler in their house,? he said.

Meanwhile, Congress wants to know who provided Ivler the high-powered guns and ammunition that he used in the shoot-out with NBI agents.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Eduardo Nonato Joson said the fact that Ivler had been able to acquire firearms even without a license should boost calls for a total gun ban not only during the election period.

Ivler was said to have used a baby Armalite and a .45 cal. pistol that were unlicensed.

?The authorities should [delve] deeper into who gave him access to the guns as well as the armor-piercing bullets in his possession. I?m sure the NBI can trace his sources,? Joson said. With reports from Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. and Tina Santos