(Eagle News) — The Iloilo mayor being tagged as a narcopolitician by President Rodrigo Duterte has filed a sick leave.
In a radio interview, Jed Mabilog’s spokesperson and lawyer Mark Piad said the mayor’s leave was effective Sept. 11.
“He filed the leave purposedly to recuperate physically because of the stress he underwent,” Piad said.
He noted that his client had also been diagnosed with stage 2 diabetes long before he left the country for a conference in Japan.
As such, he said he would need “two to three weeks to be able to rest his mind and all his body from all the stress.”
“Definitely, Mayor Mabilog will be back,” Piad said.
He added the mayor has also given him the authority to cooperate with those concerned should an investigation into Mabilog’s alleged role in illegal drug activities be underway.
After President Duterte’s announcement Mabilog was included in his list of narcopoliticians, Mabilog declared publicly that Iloilo City was “drug-free.”
Mabilog left the country reportedly for a conference in Japan amid talk Duterte had assigned Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido, who is known for his tough stance against illegal drugs, to Iloilo.
Espenido’s appointment did not push through, but Duterte said the government was already looking into Mabilog’s wealth.
In a speech, Duterte described the Iloilo mayor’s house as “palace-like.”
