All sights are now at the Iloilo City mayor.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has ordered a lifestyle check
on Iloilo City Mayor Jed Mabilog.
In a speech during the oath taking of Philippine National
Police star rank officers, Duterte said Jed Mabilog wants to talk to him and that the
local official agreed to a lifestyle check. *
House by the river, this is the house ordered by the President to be checked for lifestyle purposes of Mayor Jed Mabilog, as it is described by the Presdet as a "Palace" (photo credit to Philstar) |
"His house is like a palace… Anak siguro talaga
ito ng mayamang mayaman. Ang bahay niya talagang pinasilip ko sa mga [National
Bureau of Investigation] pati [Bureau of Internal Revenue]," Duterte told
the police officials.
The Mayor refuted the President’s claim that his house is a
palace.
"I have nothing to hide," Mabilog said in a
statement.
He stressed that he and his wife Marivic, were already
living a comfortable life in Manila when he came home to Iloilo City to run as
councilor.
He said his riches did not came from politics but from being
an entrepreneur in Manila while his spouse was working in Canada for years.
"The land or compound on which our circa 1800's
ancestral home stands was inherited and the house was built on a more or less
200 sq meter portion. It is not as big as pictures would make it appear,"
the Iloilo mayor said.
Duterte had warned Mabilog to cut his supposed ties with
drug syndicates, after announcing the new assignment of PNP Chief Inspector
Jovie Espenido as Police Chief of Iloilo City.
I'll tell you again, Mayor. Dinadawit ka. For the longest
time, updated list, nandiyan ka. Ngayon pang wala pang nangyari, baka gusto mo nang
tapusin 'yang koneksyon mo." *
MalacaƱan, in a press statement clarified that the president
is not singling out the Iloilo city mayor.
For his part, Mayor Jed Mabilog assured president Duterte
that no drug money was used in the building of his house.
"I just feel sad that what I had hoped to be a dream
home has caused a nightmare experience for me and my family. But I can assure
the President not a single centavo of dirty money was spent for this
home," Mabilog said.
Report from Philstar
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