Once Duterte’s target, Jed Mabilog now joins DILG

CEBU, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed former Iloilo City mayor Jed Mabilog as undersecretary for public safety at the Department of the Interior and Local Government on Wednesday, May 13.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla administered the oath to the newly-appointed official on Wednesday morning. Mabilog confirmed this in a statement sent to the media on Wednesday evening.

“I likewise pledge my full support in advancing the vision and programs of President Marcos under the Bagong Pilipinas agenda,” Mabilog said.

In August 2017, Mabilog left the country after then-president Rodrigo Duterte accused him of being involved in the illegal drug trade happening in Iloilo and swore to put him on his list of high-profile drug suspects who were being killed by authorities.

Prior to his departure abroad, Duterte announced the reassignment of controversial Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido to Iloilo. Espenido was given the role of chasing after mayors with alleged links to illegal drugs 

Espenido’s arrival in Iloilo raised concerns for Mabilog’s safety as the police officer was previously involved in operations that resulted in the deaths of two mayors accused of being “narco-politicians.”

For seven years, the former Iloilo City mayor went into a self-imposed exile in the United States where he sought asylum. While abroad, the Office of the Ombudsman sought the dismissal of Mabilog in October 2017 for having a pecuniary interest in a towing services company that the city government contracted. 

Mabilog fought his dismissal up to the Supreme Court in July 2019. It ended with the High Court upholding the dismissal. The Office of the Ombudsman filed the accompanying criminal graft charges before the Sandiganbayan and the Lapu-Lapu Regional Trial Court in 2023. 

In 2024, Mabilog returned to the Philippines and posted bail before both courts. In January 2025, President Marcos Jr. granted executive clemency to Mabilog in relation to his administrative case.

“The injustice he went through will fuel his desire to level the playing field in local governance. Not revenge but reform,” Remulla said in a GMA News Online article.

Amid Senate chaos

Mabilog’s appointment came around several hours before chaos at the Philippine Senate erupted — gunshots were fired inside the Senate building on Wednesday night.

This all happened amid the controversy over the presence of Senator Ronald dela Rosa in the Senate building. In a Facebook live on Wednesday afternoon, Dela Rosa said he received information that agents from the National Bureau of Investigation and police planned to arrest him there.

It can be recalled that Dela Rosa, who was then-Philippine National Police (PNP) chief during the first two years of the Duterte administration, allegedly called Mabilog who was abroad to come home, according to Mabilog’s affidavit presented during a House quad committee hearing on September 19, 2024.

In the same affidavit, Mabilog recalled that shortly after the call with Dela Rosa, an unnamed PNP general called him and warned him not to return to the country.

Mabilog shared what the police general said — that his life was in danger and that if he returns, he would be forced to label an opposition senator and a former presidential candidate as drug lords. – Rappler.com