‘Kung guilty si Mabilog sa droga, kasuhan n’yo siya!’

I bumped into this important article sa Facebook written by our kababayan PJ Aranador tungkol sa kontrobersiyal na bahay diumano ni Iloilo Mayor Jed Mabilog as alleged by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Talagang ipinagdiinan ng pangulo na mansiyon o mala-palasyo ang bahay ni Mayor Jed sa Iloilo connecting it to the controversial issue that he is a drug lord protector daw.

He even tagged Iloilo as the most-shabulized city or province in the entire country which we highly protest. Ilonggo rin ako and I should know too. Tagaroon lahat ang pamilya namin.

Here are some parts of PJ Aranador’s article which I am sharing with you (so sorry PJ kung hindi ako pormal na nakapagpaalam sa iyo na gagamitin ko ang article mo sa column ko, I feel na malaki ang maitutulong nito): “THE MANSIONS IN ILOILO from JARO TO GUIMBAL. Iloilo City is host to an impressive classical architectural wonders and homes are huge, many are like palaces.

“Even modern Iloilo houses today are huge and spanking–perhaps reminiscent of Iloilo’s glorious past which created the first billionaire’s row in the Philippines where rows of stunning and sprawling mansions were built at the turn of the century ( and still stand today).

“Today that tradition for having huge mansions and houses is, well, normal. A six to eight bedroom house is not unusual in Iloilo. Why the issue about the three bedroom house of Mayor Jed Mabilog is dragged into this drug issue, for Ilonggos it seems odd. Perhaps because when we look at the Mayor’s house, in Iloilo it is, sorry for the word, normal.

“The Mayor’s house is most likely priced at P8 million and it is modest in Iloilo. I am a designer of residences, interiors and resorts, too, so I know costings.

“Making it spacious, the little almost studio type kitchen is open plan and connects to the sala with modest furnishings—average in metropolitan Iloilo or any city or standard modest home in the USA. Many, Ilonggos are modesty aside, very affluent with the most transparent businesses. Many are so wealthy by inheritance or by hard work.

“Pres. Duterte claimed Mayor Mabilog lives in a palace. That is a bit sinister. When his people tells him something, it is almost wrong or half-truths because they do not check (ocular, verify, validate). Just hearsays. Then they will take back what they were saying when they are wrong.

“Any upper middle class family like the Mabilogs can always also dream for a house after working for so many years. Their family can afford it. They are affluent. Who does not want a nice modest house if you can afford it? Marivic, the wife of the Mayor, has worked for 30 years as VP for an engineering company in Canada and earning in dollars, thus, a P5 million salary per annum in North America is achieveable there. Plus her retirement fees. We say, the combined income of a married couple usually makes them richer.

“But what people are saying, the house of the Mayor was from drugs. Implausible it may seem. If Mabilog was into drugs, then charge him.
“Just do not judge him through public announcements like ‘Mabuhay pa kaya siya?’ Hey, whether he is a mayor or not, he has a family. You are hurting his family like any normal family should feel.”

mayor or not, he has a family. You are hurting his family like any normal family should feel.”