ILOILO City – President Rodrigo Duterte thinks former Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, whom he accused of protecting drug lords, will be in hiding for another six years.
Duterte made this remark as he lamented anew about the true extent and nature of illegal drug use in the country.
“Kaya sabi ko ‘di ba (That’s why I said, right)? I’m fighting drugs. I never realized that I would be fighting my own government, pati sa Customs, lahat (even the Customs, everything),” he said in a speech after witnessing the lowering of the tunnel boring machine for the Metro Manila Subway Project in Valenzuela City on Sunday, June 12.
Duterte cited Mabilog as an example of local officials who allegedly benefitted from illegal drugs, noting again that the former mayor’s house was “like a palace.”
“Pati si Mayor Mabilog. Iyong mayor ng Iloilo, tingnan mo ang p***** i***** bahay parang palasyo (Even Mayor Mabilog. The [former] mayor of Iloilo. Look at his house, it’s like a palace),” he said.
Duterte said Mabilog will probably stay in exile unless the government is led by opposition leaders.
Mabilo has denied being involved in illegal drugs either as protector, user, pusher or financier. He also said his house in Molo district was built thru his and his wife’s hard work for years before he entered politics.
“Tanong siya kay Bong, ‘Bong, galit ba si Mayor sa akin?’ Sabi ko, ‘Sabihin mo Bong, siya na ang isusunod ko.’ Kaya lumayas, hindi na bumalik, lalo na ang another six years. Siguro ‘pag nanalo ‘yung kabila,” he added.
Amid Duterte’s intensifying verbal attacks, then Mayor Mabilog, fearing for his safety, left the country in August 2017, not finishing his third term which should have ended in 2019.
Meanwhile, Duterte noted that dealing with the country’s drug problem should not be done lightly.
“How do you deal with the drug problem? Soft-spoken ka? Hijo, huwag ka nang mag… Hindi nadadala ‘yang mga drug lords? Mas mabuti pa diretso (You are soft-spoken? Son, drug lords never learn. It’s better to run after them directly),” he said.
Duterte accused Mabilog of being a drug protector.
Mabilog has not returned to the country after attending a disaster management summit in Japan in August 2017. His wife and children also left the country.
In October 2017, Mabilog was removed administratively by the Office of the Ombudsman for unexplained wealth. The Court of Appeals reversed this decision in a 2021 ruling and cleared Mabilog. (PNA/PN)
