Police assure Mabilog’s safety

ILOILO CITY — The chief of the Western Visayas regional police assured Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog he would be properly secured when he returns home from abroad.

But regional police chief, Chief Supt. Cesar Hawthorne Binag, was still uncertain when Mabilog, who left the country more than a month ago, would report back for work after he was repeatedly denigrated as a drug lord by President Duterte.

Binag said the police in the region would do everything it could to secure Mabilog, who sought medical treatment overseas.

“As regional director, it is my obligation and my mandate to secure each and every member of the community, foremost of which are our officials, like the city mayor,” Binag told businessmen.

Mabilog, his wife, Marivic, and their two children, left the country on Aug. 31. Marivic earlier admitted she and her children left the country due to security concerns.

Their departure came days after Mr. Duterte accused Mabilog of being a drug protector and ordered the assignment of controversial police official Jovie Espenido to Iloilo City.

Mabilog’s spokesperson, lawyer Mark Piad, earlier said the mayor filed a sick leave from Sept. 11 to 30 because needed rest and is seeking treatment from Type 2 Diabetes.