President Duterte has said that the Ombudsman’s dismissal of Ilo-ilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog is a late and pretentious gesture to win his favor.
In a speech in Davao City Friday, Duterte reiterated that he will favor nobody under his administration.
“The Ombudsman, in a very, very late gesture, para kunwari na sinuportahan nila ako, fired, stripped him of his mayorship,” he said. “Basta ako, trabaho ko, trabaho ko. Period,” he added.
Malacañang has said that the Department of the Interior and Local Government will implement the dismissal order of Mabilog once they receive a copy of the order.
The Ombudsman ordered the dismissal from service of Mabilog after he was found guilty of serious dishonesty in relation to his “unlawful acquisition of wealth.”
Mabilog reportedly failed to account his sources of income which resulted to an increase in his net worth by over R8.9 million in a span of one year.
Duterte has accused Mabilog of having ties to the illegal drug trade and tagged Iloilo City as the “most shabulized” in Visayas.
Mabilog and his family left the country last August after the President’s repeated warning to him to sever his ties with drug personalities or risk his life. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)
