By: Tara Yap
ILOILO CITY – Jed Patrick Mabilog is no longer the mayor of this city with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) serving the dismissal order as directed by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Atty. Anthony Nuyda, DILG regional director for Western Visayas, declared yesterday Jose “Joe” Espinosa III as new city mayor.
The Ombudsman order, which was decided last Aug. 29 and publicly, released last Oct. 26, had Mabilog being dismissed from service for serious dishonesty due to alleged unexplained wealth.
It was former Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel “Boy” Mejorada who filed the complaint against Mabilog.
In its findings, the Ombudsman deemed it peculiar that Mabilog’s net worth increased by P8.9 million from 2012 to 2013.
On his part, Mabilog reasoned the increase was due to a loan his wife secured from the Bank of Canada.
President Duterte has repeatedly hit Mabilog for his alleged ill-gotten wealth, claiming it came from illegal drug transactions. Mabilog has denied this.