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Manila Bulletin devider devider Palace tells Mabilog: Flight is a sign of guilt

Palace tells Mabilog: Flight is a sign of guilt

Published Mar 10, 2018 04:34 pm
By Argyll Cyrus Geducos Malacañang said former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog should return to the country if his claim of innocence from all accusations linking him to the illegal drug trade is true. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque made the statement days after Duterte lashed out at the dismissed Iloilo City mayor, saying he will really kill him if he returns to the country. Presidential Spokesperson Atty. Harry Roque (TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO/ MANILA BULLETIN) Presidential spokesperson Atty. Harry Roque (TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO) "Flight is evidence of guilt. Kung gusto niyang linisin ang pangalan niya, umuwi siya rito at harapin ang mga bintang laban sa kanya (If he wants to clear his name, he should go home and face the charges against him)," Roque said in a press briefing in Alimodian, Iloilo this afternoon. "Pero habang siya ay nagtatago (But as long as he is in hiding), continuing evidence of guilt," he added. When asked by a local reporter if President Duterte has a personal hatred against the former Iloilo City mayor, Roque said Duterte and Mabilog have no personal relationship. "Wala. Wala namang silang personal na relasyon paano magkakaroon ng (There's none. They don't have a personal relationship in the first place so why would there be a) personal hatred?" he said. "He is in the drug list. Local government units or leaders are in the drug list provided by different law enforcement agents of the government," he added. President Duterte has been accusing Mabilog of having ties to the drug trade in the city, tagging Iloilo as the "most shabulized" in the Visayas region. Mabilog has consistently denied the President's allegations. Mabilog and his family left the country in August after the President's repeated warning him to sever his ties with drug personalities or risk his life. However, Mabilog's exact whereabouts, at present, is unknown. In October, 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". The OMB gave the verdict after Mabilog failed to account his sources of income which resulted in an increase in his net worth by over P8.9 million in a span of one year. In a speech in Tarlac on Wednesday, Duterte said he has been looking for Mabilog whom he claimed is afraid to return to the country for fear of getting killed. "Hindi na siya umuwi kasi papatayin ko talaga siya (He did not come home anymore because I will really kill him)," Duterte said Wednesday. Following Duterte's recent tirades against the dismissed Mayor, Mabilog's wife Marivic has accused Duterte of being mentally ill. Roque shrugged off this claim and said this did not deserve any comment from the Palace. "I do not respond to people who are unworthy of our response. She is one of them," Roque said during the press briefing.
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