Duterte orders lifestyle check on Mabilog

President Rodrigo Duterte has instructed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to conduct a lifestyle check on Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, whom he accused of having drug connections. (Photo: Jed Patrick E. Mabilog/Facebook)

President Rodrigo Duterte has instructed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to conduct a lifestyle check on Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, whom he accused of having drug connections.

In his speech at the mass oath-taking of newly-promoted police officers on Wednesday, Duterte said that Mabilog’s house is like a palace and that he may be a son of a wealthy person.

Following the President’s order, the NBI on Thursday took a peek on Mabilog’s residence. NBI Western Visayas Regional Director Max Salvador said that they no longer had to secure a search warrant from the court since the mayor gave his consent to the visit.

As described by Duterte, Mabilog’s “palace-like” house can be found along the Iloilo River and across Esplanade. The mayor said that the house was constructed from his income and that of his wife, Marivic.

Mabilog added that he and his wife were already living a comfortable life as they were running a number of businesses before he joined politics. The mayor said he didn’t become rich because of politics, instead they made “huge sacrifices” as well as wise investments.

“My house, while often described as a palace, is not quite a palace. The land or compound on which our circa 1800’s ancestral home stands was inherited and the house was built on a more or less 200 sq meter portion,” Mabilog said in a statement on Wednesday.

“It is not as big as pictures would make it appear. Last year I opened our doors to the local media for them to see the inside,” he further added.

Mabilog said he can assure the President that not a single centavo of dirty money was spent for the construction of his home.