Palace defends Mabilog’s DILG post amid old drug claims

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Malacañang defended the appointment of former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog as undersecretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, saying no criminal cases were filed against him over illegal drug allegations raised during the Duterte administration.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the absence of charges against Mabilog indicates there was no sufficient basis to prosecute him despite his inclusion in previous drug watchlists.

Castro stressed that if strong evidence had linked Mabilog to the illegal drug trade, cases should have been filed in court rather than left as allegations.

“If he was on the drugs watch list, we do not have personal knowledge on that, and if he was really on the drugs watch list, cases should have been filed against him. Were there cases filed? […] There was no case,” she said in a May 18 press briefing.

Mabilog was repeatedly accused by former President Rodrigo Duterte of protecting illegal drug syndicates at the height of the administration’s anti-drug campaign, which left thousands dead and drew international scrutiny, including an International Criminal Court inquiry.

Duterte publicly linked the former Iloilo City mayor to alleged drug personalities, including the Odicta group, and once branded Iloilo City the “most shabulized” city in the country.

Amid the allegations and threats during the drug war, Mabilog left the Philippines in 2017 and sought asylum in the United States.

He spent about seven years abroad while consistently denying the accusations, describing them as politically motivated.

Authorities never filed any drug-related charges against him.

Mabilog said he will focus on his duties as undersecretary for public safety, stressing that public service, not criticism, will define his role in government.

He added that he remains undeterred by the public scrutiny surrounding his appointment.

“People may criticize, speculate, or envy, but they cannot take away what God has allowed and entrusted to me. Focus on service, not on noise,” he said.

“I was not appointed to please everyone. I was appointed to serve. Let my work speak for itself. Padayon lang. The best answer to critics is competence, integrity, and results,” he added.