Jed Patrick Mabilog. Photo from the Facebook page of Iloilo City government
MANILA, Philippines — Jed Mabilog, the former mayor of Iloilo City accused of being involved in the drug trade during the Duterte administration, revealed there was an alleged scheme to force him to link former senators Mar Roxas and Franklin Drilon to the illicit business.
Facing lawmakers on Thursday, Mabilog recounted an incident after he left the Philippines for Japan in 2017 due to fear for his life. He said that while in Japan, Police Brig. Gen. Bernardo Diaz advised him to call a mobile number, which turned out to belong to then-Philippine National Police chief Ronaldo “Bato” dela Rosa, who is now a senator.
According to Mabilog, dela Rosa sympathized with him and said he believed the former mayor was not involved in the drug trade – words that “brought a brief moment of hope” for the ex-local chief executive of Iloilo, which almost made him return to the country.
READ: Mabilog wife hits back at Duterte: Drug raps unproven
However, after his phone call with dela Rosa, another police official whom he did not name called him and warned him that if returned to the Philippines, he would be coerced to “point fingers” at two high-profile personalities as “drug lords.”
“Upon arrival, I received a message from General Diaz, to call a number. Using a public payphone, I made the call and spoke to General Bato, who expressed his sympathy. He was talking to me in Bisaya. He told me he knew I was innocent, that I wasn’t involved in illegal drugs, and he promised to help me. His words brought a brief moment of hope,” Mabilog told the House quad-committee probing into the Duterte administration’s “drug war.”
“I told him (dela Rosa) I would finish my work abroad and return to meet him, but he urged me to be careful, repeating his pledge to help. It’s just after that call my Philippine cellphone rang, this time it was another general, his voice was grim: Mayor, do not return, your life is in danger. The accusations against you are all fabricated, but if you go to Crame, you’ll be forced to point fingers to an opposition senator and a former presidential candidate as drug lords,” he added.
Eventually, Mabilog named the two personalities as Roxas and Drilon, his cousin.
“You mentioned that if you went to Camp Crame, two things may happen […] you were told that you will pinpoint a certain former senator and a certain presidentiable. Can you mention again the name of that senator and that presidentiable?” Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano asked Mabilog.
READ: Ex-Iloilo mayor on Duterte’s drug list returns to PH
“Your Honor, if I could write the names also,” the ex-mayor replied.
“If I asked you, better you answer by yes or no, is it former senator Mar Roxas? Is it former senator Drilon, who is your cousin?” Paduano pressed.
“Yes, sir,” Mabilog answered.
Roxas and Drilon were top stalwarts of the opposition Liberal Party during the Duterte administration. Then-president Rodrigo Duterte tagged Mabilog as a drug protector, which the former mayor denied.
Paduano said it appears politics is the mere motive for Mabilog’s inclusion in the Duterte adimistration’s narcolist.
“So, Mr. Chairman, the reason why I am asking this is because from the very start of the statement, the affidavit of Jed Mabilog and his preliminary remarks, it is all about politics. That’s why Duterte’s list again, from the statement of Col. (Jovie) Espenido, it appears that it has not gone through vetting and validation,” he noted.
Earlier, Mabilog also asked lawmakers to find ways to fix the country’s systems, particularly the management of law enforcement agencies as these were allegedly weaponized against political opponents.
Mabilog likewise turned emotional when he recounted his ordeal, saying that he hoped accusations would be verified first before being announced publicly.
Despite being linked by Duterte to the illegal drug trade, no cases were filed against Mabilog.
Mabilog left the country in August 2017 to attend a conference in Japan, but he and his family never returned. Last September 10, however, Mabilog returned to the Philippines in an attempt to clear his name.
The House quad-committee was scheduled to hold a hearing about Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos). However, lawmakers were given leeway to ask questions to Mabilog to make the most of his presence at the House.
The four panels — the House committee on dangerous drugs, committee on public order and safety, committee on public accounts, and committee on human rights — have been investigating possible correlation between illegal activities in Pogos, the illicit drug trade, and extrajudicial killings in the Duterte administration’s drug war.