ILOILO CITY -- Members of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Western Visayas made an initial inspection on the residence of Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog Thursday afternoon.
Ariel Castañeda, head of the Local Economic Enterprise Office (LEEO) of the city government, who was present when the NBI team arrived, said that verbally they sought permission prior to making some documentation within the house premises.
It was supposed to be a discreet ocular inspection for documentation, according to an NBI personnel, who refused to grant an interview for lack of authority to speak.
Jay Victor E. Mabilog, executive assistant at the Office of the City Mayor and sibling of Mayor Mabilog, said he was informed that the NBI “initially wanted to inspect the premise, especially the inside.”
“I met one of their agents and I was told they were here just to check the premises. After that, they went back to their car and advised us that they are leaving,” he said. The executive assistant arrived when the agents are already inside the compound of the Mabilogs.
Before they left, the NBI agents took pictures of what’s inside the compound such as vehicles and outside view of the house, among others.
“Like what the President said there has to be due process and the rule of law will be observed. Based on that we expect courtesy from them. Our house is open as long as they ask permission and there are documents,” the younger Mabilog said.
After the NBI’s inspection, Mabilog said they are expecting other government agencies to also visit the house of the mayor. While expecting the worst scenario, Mayor Mabilog continuously ask for prayers, he added.
He also toured members of the local media inside the house to see for themselves the mayor’s residence.
Atty. Mark Piad, spokesperson of the city mayor, said that there is nothing wrong with the conduct of the inspection “if it’s part of their fact-finding investigation.”
“Mayor Mabilog has committed to cooperate with whatever investigation that they are going to do,” he explained.
He added that Mayor Mabilog has nothing to hide after President Rodrigo Duterte has declared that the NBI will conduct a lifestyle check on him.
Piad said they will cooperate with the investigation “within the bounds of the law.”
President Duterte on Wednesday said that the house of Mabilog is like “a palace.” He also ordered a lifestyle check on the mayor.
The three-storey house, with an area of around 200 square meters in Barangay Tap-oc, Molo, was built in 2013. A view from its terrace at the second floor is the Iloilo River.
Mayor Mabilog on Wednesday said that his house “while often described as a palace, is not quite a palace.”
“Everybody dreams of building a beautiful home. Marivic and I built one not only for ourselves but for our children. And I had hoped to plant seeds of inspiration among Ilonggos that through hard work, they too like Jed Mabilog, can achieve their dreams,” the mayor said.
His wife Marivic worked as vice president for finance and comptroller of Terracom, Geotechnique, a geodetic engineering firm in Canada, before retiring for good in Iloilo in 2014. (PNA)
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