Incumbent Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas insisted he never said that former mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog was cleared of illegal drug issues.
“I said I was happy that he cleared himself at the [House quad committee hearing],” Treñas said in a lengthy Facebook post on Monday, March 31.
“I even said that I went to [former] Speaker [Pantaleon] “Bebot” Alvarez to ask for his help for him. What I did not say was the reply of then-Speaker Bebot: ‘Marami ebidensiya sa kanya (Mabilog),'” he added.
Mabilog, who was in exile in the United States after his inclusion in former president Rodrigo Duterte’s narco list, paid a courtesy visit on Treñas when he returned to the city in September last year.
“I already knew he was with [City Representative] Jamjam [Baronda] and that they were planning to run against us. But just the same, I treated him well and even gave him pancit molo, while [city mayoral candidate] Raisa [Treñas] prepared a birthday cake,” the sitting mayor said.
In a separate statement, Treñas said: “It is common knowledge that [Mabilog] had connections with drug lords].”
According to him, Mabilog “did the city a lot of harm” when Duterte tagged the city as the “most shabu-lized” (most drug-affected) in the country.
Mabilog, who is actively campaigning for reelectionist City Representative Julienne Baronda and other members of Team Sulong Gugma, repeatedly denied his involvement in the trade of illegal drugs.IMT
