Mayor says he’s being probed for, not charged with wealth raps

ILOILO CITY—Graft investigators have asked the city mayor, Jed Patrick Mabilog, to answer allegations that he is keeping unexplained wealth.

The mayor, in text messages to Inquirer, said this did not mean he has been charged at the antigraft court Sandiganbayan.

Mabilog said the Office of the Ombudsman had asked him to file a counteraffidavit in
response to a recommendation by Ombudsman investigators to upgrade the lifestyle check on the mayor to a formal complaint that would determine if there is basis to charge the mayor with violating Republic Act No. 1379 or the Unexplained Wealth Act.

But the filing of counter affidavit, said Mabilog, was “part of regular due process.”

In a text message to Inquirer, Mabilog said what his accusers are pointing to as his unexplained wealth are actually a piece of real estate property and income earned by his wife, Ma. Victoria, who is vice president for finance and comptroller of an engineering firm in Canada.

Ma. Victoria’s income and real estate purchase are reflected in Mabilog’s statement of assets and liabilities (SALN) that his accusers wrongly tagged as unexplained wealth, according to the mayor.

In a statement, Mabilog’s lawyer Mark Piad said Ma. Victoria’s income as a highly paid executive of a company in Canada would explain the rise in the mayor’s net worth.

Piad said questions about Mabilog’s SALN would be answered by documents showing the income of Ma. Victoria.

In an earlier interview, another lawyer of Mabilog, Joenar Pueblo, said part of the reason behind the increase in Mabilog’s net worth is the entry in his SALN representing a piece of real estate property acquired by Ma. Victoria in Canada through a bank loan.

Paul Elmer Clemente, deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas, on Nov. 12 last year approved a
16-page final evaluation report prepared by Theodore Banderado recommending the upgrade of a lifestyle check on Mabilog to a formal complaint.

The report said Mabilog’s net worth, as shown in his SALN, tripled from P16.5 million in 2006 to P44.4 million in 2007.

On Nov. 26, 2015, the Ombudsman-Visayas directed Mabilog to file his counteraffidavit “after finding enough basis” to proceed with a criminal and administrative investigation of the allegation against Mabilog. Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas