By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
Former Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, who has been in exile for nearly seven years, expressed his desire to return to the Philippines to clear his name from alleged links to the illegal drug trade.
Mabilog stated that he seeks peace for himself and his family, something he claims has been elusive since former President Rodrigo Duterte accused him of being a drug protector in 2016.
“What I want is simple — I just want to go home, and my family just wants peace,” Mabilog said in a three-minute video clip of an exclusive interview with ANC.
While it was not disclosed when Mabilog plans to return to the country, reliable sources told Daily Guardian that he will be back on September 20 this year, his 59th birthday.
The former mayor confirmed receiving an invitation to appear at a public hearing of the House Committees on Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, and Public Accounts.
Despite Duterte’s allegations, Mabilog said he has been waiting for formal drug-related charges to be filed against him.
“I was waiting for cases to be filed against me for these drug-related allegations, and until now, there’s none because they have nothing against me,” he emphasized.
In August 2016, Duterte branded Iloilo as the “most shabulized” city, accusing several local officials of involvement in the illegal drug trade.
The Philippine National Police’s (PNP) list of narco-politicians, which included 158 public officials nationwide, named Mabilog along with 11 other government and police officials from Iloilo.
Mabilog left the country on August 30, 2017, for an official trip to Japan and Malaysia. He later filed a sick leave to seek medical treatment abroad in September and has remained overseas since then, with his exact whereabouts remaining unknown.
In 2018, Duterte threatened to kill Mabilog if he returned to the Philippines.
In 2017, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the region clarified that neither Mabilog nor other elected city officials named by Duterte were on their watch list or known to be protecting drug personalities.
Other law enforcement agencies also failed to provide concrete evidence to support Duterte’s claims or establish Mabilog’s connection to illegal drugs.
Due to Duterte’s persistent threats, Mabilog explained that he and his family “decided not to return until conditions were favorable and justice could be served, just like what is happening right now in Congress.”
Earlier in August, Mabilog’s case resurfaced when Iloilo City’s lone district Rep. Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda expressed her intention to convince Mabilog to return and clear his name during a hearing of a quad committee in Congress.
Baronda emphasized that Mabilog’s testimony would be essential to help remove the “most shabulized” label that Iloilo City received under Duterte’s presidency.
