Mabilog says DILG appointment disproves drug-link allegations

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog believes his appointment as undersecretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) proves there is no truth to allegations linking him to the illegal drug trade.

Mabilog said Friday, May 15, that the appointment reflects the trust and confidence of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his leadership and governance record.

He said he initially sought a lower position at DILG, but Marcos eventually named him to an undersecretary post.

Mabilog said DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla had expressed interest in bringing him into the department as early as August 2025 and had reserved the position for him.

He said Remulla advised him not to seek “revenge” in his new role and to focus instead on reforms and public service.

“I have to move on, I [overcame] it. I am confident. It has been proven, otherwise they will not put me in this position. Why would the DILG put me here? They know what they are doing, and they know who they appointed,” he said when asked how his appointment would address the drug-link allegations.

The appointment marks a sharp turn in fortunes for a politician once branded a “narco-politician” by former President Rodrigo Duterte at the height of his administration’s anti-drug campaign — the same campaign now at the center of International Criminal Court proceedings against Duterte.

Mabilog said Duterte’s past remarks branding him a “narco-politician” and labeling Iloilo City the “most shabulized” city — a play on shabu, the local term for methamphetamine — were politically motivated.

“The problem is from the very beginning, it was all political […] I know that I am not involved in illegal drugs and the accusations they throw at me are not true,” he said.

He added that those continuing to revive the issue online are either trolls or individuals seeking political advantage ahead of the 2028 elections.

“I will just focus on my task as undersecretary. I will do what I have to do because of that issue, it depends on them, especially on social media, we do not have control on that, let them be,” he said.

Asked about Duterte’s detention before the International Criminal Court and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa’s apparent hiding over drug-related allegations, Mabilog said: “Let the rule of law apply.”

“I am not happy, I am not sad. I am poker-faced,” he said when asked whether he felt justice had been served.

He added that he still prays for both Duterte and dela Rosa.

“I just pray for them that the Holy Spirit will bless them with gifts of wisdom and acceptance. What happened to me, I do not want anyone to ever happen to them as well. I do not wish that to happen to anyone,” he said.

In 2017, amid threats to his life and family, Mabilog fled the country and lived in self-imposed exile in the United States.

He returned to the Philippines in September 2024 after seven years abroad.

After his return, Mabilog said that before his exile he had spoken with dela Rosa and was later warned by another general not to go to Camp Crame because his life was allegedly in danger.

Dela Rosa, however, rejected Mabilog’s account and called it “incredible,” saying he had even tried to help the former mayor clear his name.