In an emotional speech before the House quad-committee (quad-comm), former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog bared on Thursday, September 19, his harrowing experiences since 2016 when then president Rodrigo Duterte included him in his dreaded “narco-list.”
Mabilog, who has spent the last seven years in self-imposed exile in the United States (US), appeared before the special four-way panel at the House of Representatives where he also bared an alleged plot to link former senators Mar Roxas and Franklin Drilon to illegal drugs during Duterte’s term as president.
Quad-comm co-chairman, Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, had Mabilog identify the “opposition senator and a former presidential candidate” that were supposed to be pinned down on the illegal drugs issue after the latter left them nameless in his affidavit.
“Can you mention the names?…if I ask you, better you answer yes or no. Is it…former senator Mar Roxas? Is it former senator [Franklin] Drilon, who is your cousin?” asked Paduano.
Mabilog answered “Yes” to both names. Of the two Liberal Party (LP) fixtures, it was Roxas who ran for the presidency during the 2016 race, which Duterte won.
“It is all about politics. Kaya ‘yung Duterte’s list, again…napakalinaw po na it [did not go] through vetting and validation. Pag kalaban ka sa pulitika, nasa listahan ka,” Paduano said in reaction to Mabilog’ revelation.
For the ex-Iloilo mayor, the narco-list was a virtual “hit list” during the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
“Una po sa lahat, I declare that I was not and never will be a drug protector! I don’t know personally nor did I benefit in any way from any illegal drug personality in Iloilo or anywhere else,” Mabilog told the quad-comm.
Despite this, he admitted to the solons that he feared for his life and that of his loved ones.
This fear came to a head on Aug. 28, 2017 when he said he received an unexpected call from former Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional Director Bernardo Diaz.
LIFE IN DANGER
“He invited me to meet with PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa, now senator, at Camp Crame, Quezon City, at noon the following day. The next morning, on Aug. 29, I arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at 10 a.m., ready to proceed [to a speaking engagement to Japan],” Mabilog said.
“At around 5 p.m., a PNP colonel called me in a voice that sent shivers down my spine, literal po ‘yon (that’s literal), warned me not to go to Camp Crame because my life was in danger.
“The fear that had been simmering now erupted, soon after, at 6:30 p.m, my wife Marivic received a chilling text from a PNP colonel’s wife, ‘Do not proceed, there are 20 men surrounding your house. And if you go to Camp Crame, they will kill you,'” narrated Mabilog.
“The terror was paralyzing, I couldn’t believe it. My life and my family’s life was hanging by a thread,” said Mabilog, who took a deep breath to compose himself. His arms were already shaking.
“The next day, on the Aug. 30, I took the first flight out to Japan not knowing if I will ever return. Upon arrival, I received a message from General Diaz, to call a number. Using a public payphone, I made the call and spoke to General Bato who expressed his sympathy. He was talking to me in Bisaya,” he said.
Mabilog quoted Dela Rosa as saying, “Mayor naaawa ako sayo, tutulungan kita, inosente ka.”
“His words brought a brief moment of hope. I told him I would finish my work abroad and return to meet him, but he urged me to be careful, repeating his pledge to help. It’s just after that call my Philippine cellphone rang, this time it was another general, his voice was grim: Mayor, do not return, your life is in danger,” he recounted.
“The accusations against you are all fabricated, but if you go to Crame, you’ll be forced to point fingers to an opposition senator and a former presidential candidate as drug lords,” Mabilog said.
In the end, he chose not to give in to Dela Rosa’s coaxing. Dela Rosa was the PNP chief during the launch of Duterte’s aggressive drug war.
