Did Dy absorb Mabilog?

“Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home... it's your responsibility to love it, or change it.”

—Chuck Palahniuk

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

INSTEAD of arguing whether they engaged in vote-buying during the elections, some members of the Iloilo City Council should focus on more important issues with direct impact on the lives of their constituents.

While vote-buying is a serious offense by any candidate seeking an elective public office, it can always take a backseat if there are more pressing matters that need to be tackled or prioritized.

Like the problem on health and sanitation especially that four tropical cyclones are expected to hit the country in October; the ear-piercing flood control tumult; the ever-controversial real property tax brouhaha; assistance for victims of storm Opong, among other urgent concerns.

The issue on vote-buying is also important and hot, and should be debated and investigated during the election season, but not when Ilonggos are expecting their aldermen to pass worthy resolutions that would redound to their benefit.

 

-o0o-

 

Did former Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog lose his job as Special Adviser to House Speaker Martin Romualdez now that the latter has resigned as speaker and was replaced by Isabela Rep. Faustino “Bojie” Dy III?

Mabilog was appointed Special Adviser to House Speaker Martin Romualdez on May 1, 2025, or four months ago.

His appointment was officially confirmed through a memorandum signed by House Secretary General Reginald Velasco.

Since Romualdez remained as Leyte first district representative, did his office “absorb” the former city mayor in his staff?

Since Mabilog is not a Leyte resident and can’t be given a clerical position intended only, of course, for Romualdez’s province mates, it is possible his portfolio as special adviser for the former House speaker was also terminated.

Unless Dy will retain Mabilog, which is a far-fetched possibility, the former city mayor, who hid in the United States for seven years to escape the wrath and death threat from former Philippine President and now ICC detainee Rodrigo Duterte, will have to find another office where his expertise is needed while his Ilonggo constituents are hoping and waiting he will be qualified to run again in the next elections.

 

-o0o-

 

PEOPLE who misuse the name of God dishonor His name and denigrate His holiness.

Like Eddie Villanueva, a party-list representative and former defeated presidential candidate, who reportedly used and even allegedly misused the name of God to threaten those who linked his son, Sen. Joel Villanueva, to flood control project anomalies.

The reason God will condemn us is because misusing his name is a very great sin.

It is a direct attack on his honor and glory, and anyone who makes such an attack deserves to be condemned.

When people break the third or any other commandment, they are guilty before God, and ultimately they will be judged for their sins.

 

-o0o-

 

What God forbids is not the use of his name, then, but its misuse. To be specific, we are not to use it in a vain or empty way.

The specific misuse that God has in mind is speaking about him carelessly, thoughtlessly, or even flippantly, as if he didn’t matter or really didn’t exist at all.

God’s name has deep spiritual significance. So to treat it like something worthless is profanity in the truest sense of the word: It is to treat something holy and sacred as common and secular.

Even if he invoked the name of God, in the eyes of many Filipinos, Eddie Villanueva, or Bro. Eddie, condoned the alleged corruption of his son, who allegedly received some P160 million in kickbacks from the P600 million flood control projects.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Editor)

 

 

Marivic Mabilog: We’re in a much better place now

  

"Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone."

-- Ella Wheeler Wilcox 

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

SIX years after I wrote an article entitled, “Marivic Mabilog’s pain”, I got a message from the former First Lady of Iloilo City, who is now based in Canada together with former mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog and their children.

“We are in a much better place now,” Mrs. Mabilog wrote. “We try to forget the betrayals...they still hurt but when you look at the bigger picture, we are truly blessed and we are on the exact place God wants us to be.”

This was what I wrote in my column and blogs on August 30, 2017:

Josephine Bracken to Dr. Jose Rizal: "Love, I will love you ever; love, I will leave thee never; ever to me precious to thee; never to part, heart bound to heart, or ever to say goodbye. 

So, my darling, receive many warm Affection and love from your ever faithful and true till death."

No one knows how many cups of tears has Marivic Mabilog shed secretly, so far; how many sleepless nights she has logged; and how tight were the embraces she gave her husband, embattled Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.

No one can approximate her heartaches and tribulations, but any wife and mother will feel the same pain inside Marivic's heart. 

The torrents of recent events that pilloried her husband and placed his life in jeopardy, must have taken their toll on Marivic as a wife.

No first lady of a city chief executive must've suffered the level of distress, sadness and anxiety Marivic has been going through nowadays like Xanthippe, wife of Socrates, condemned and forced to drink the hemlock for the sins he did not commit.

Especially that Marivic knows her husband is innocent like Sir Galahad, but is being fiercely loathed by the President, treated shabbily by a police underling through their irresponsible and uncalled for public admonishments, and abandoned by hitherto political allies through their deafening and incredible silence.

Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you where they are now--and why they refuse to make a stand.

Beneath the veneer of Marivic's brave and unruffled front must be a dreary wife that resembles Achlys: weeping, emaciated, and pale, with chattering teeth, swollen knees, long nails on her fingers, bloody cheeks, and her shoulders thickly covered with dust.

Marivic has become a woman pushed against the wall, Iloilo's modern symbol of martyrdom, Agathonice.

A wounded tigress can be vain and histrionic, but once we reach the level of hypothermia, human beings tend to become stiff from fear and intimidation.

Like Hua Mulan (The Ballad of Mulan, 6th Century Chinese poem), Marivic can turn into a warrior when push comes to shove, her bravery may not revolve around avoiding marriage or seeking passion, but will be one centered on familial love and honor.

Friedrich Nietzsche once said, "What cannot kill you will make you strong."

When it comes to pushing beyond our comfort zone. fear can sometimes be transformed into energy and endurance.

We can then sit with fear and acknowledge it, humble ourselves before fear, and accept fear's challenge to be brave as it comes in each moment.

Let me share this letter from Unveiled Wife entitled, "Letter To My Husband: I love You" :

Dear Husband,

Our world is not perfect, I know, but it’s perfect to me. Just being able to wake up next to you gives me so much peace joy and hope. Though this road is rocky and it seems to get worse at times, just know that I love you and always will. We can make it and we will. Let’s just keep putting God first and having our nightly bible studies till we get it right so we can become someone else’s or even another couples beacon of light!

Love Your Wife

 

-o0o-

 

EMAIL FROM NEW YORK GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL. Alex, New York State is in the midst of a housing crisis that has been decades in the making. 

Even though New York is the place where people and businesses want to be, too many can’t afford to live or move here. 

Over the last ten years, our state has created 1.2 million jobs — but only 400,000 new homes. 

Rent and home prices are skyrocketing. In the New York City metro area, rents have risen 30 percent since 2015 and home prices have risen 50 percent. Outside of New York City, rents have risen 40-60 percent since 2015, while home prices are up by 50-80 percent.

That means young people can’t afford to start families here, grandparents can’t downsize, and businesses can’t find housing for their workers.   

We need to build more housing to make life easier and more affordable for New Yorkers. 

We have a plan to build 800,000 new homes across our state: The New York Housing Compact.

The New York Housing Compact will help spur the changes New York needs to create more housing, meet rising demand, and make our state a more equitable, stable, and affordable place to live.

Alex, together, we will tackle our housing crisis and create a brighter future for New Yorkers. Ever Upward, Gov. Kathy Hochul

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

Congratulations Jed? ‘Thanks, but no thanks!’

“The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.”

—Dante Alighieri

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

SOME of those who were quick to “congratulate” former Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog when the latter was acquitted in an administrative case in a 24-page decision promulgated on June 11, 2021 by the Court of Appeal’s 19th Division, were his former political allies.

The CA granted Mabilog’s petition assailing the decision issued by the Office of the Ombudsman on Aug. 27, 2019.

Some of them were the same political personalities who taped their own mouths and never said a word to denounce the cruel harassment Mabilog had endured from the loquacious and verbally abusive President Rodrigo Duterte since 2016.

Or at least belie the malicious and false accusations leveled against the crestfallen Mabilog, who now has found solace in Canada.

Where were they when Mabilog “needed” them most?

Comforting words or moral support expressed in public couldn’t reverse the tragic political misfortune Mabilog had incurred from Emperor Digong, but these gestures would have been enough to cushion the impact of the unmitigated slander fired at Mabilog without let up from different angles.

Imposing and powerful words of support from these former political allies that would have given Mabilog the fighting chance to out-slick his detractors in the bar of public opinion, besmirched by lies after lies repeated like dizzying sirens from winged creatures.

 

-o0o-

 

Now that the CA has cleared Mabilog, victory has many fathers, so to speak.

They can now suddenly “freely” express their feelings as regards Mabilog’s predicament; they aren’t anymore muzzled and, in fact, are “glad that the truth has come out.” Whoa.

There’s a lesson to learn in this episode. Friendships, with or without politics, are one of the most important pillars in life.

They make up the support system; a sanctuary where friends can share the good and the bad, and really feel understood.

True friends and political allies stand up for one another. 

When powerful characters like Emperor Digong try to intimidate and persecute them, they must do everything they can to make sure they will continue to stay afloat and survive the political Pearl Harbor like in Mabilog’s case.

True political allies will defend each other anytime, anywhere, even without the election with no reservation or reward. 

Real political allies are not those who repeatedly tell each other negative things their rivals and detractors say about them.

Real political allies standby consistently and don’t abandon each other even in the face of imminent slaughter from the ruling political party.

Still probably hurting from some of his former political allies’ eerie silence during the reign of terror, Mabilog must be telling them in his mind: “Thanks, but no thanks. Dark clouds may have hovered around me, but truth and justice will work them out—even without you and your hypocrisy.”

 

-o0o-

 

THE Diaz ladies are the first: Gloria Diaz, the first Filipino Miss Universe in 1969 and Hidilyn Diaz, the first Filipino Olympic Games gold medalist in the 2020 Tokyo Games (held in 2021 because of the pandemic).

The Marcos couple was the first: Ferdinand and Imelda, the first to land in the pages of the Guinness Book of World Records for being we-all-know-what.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

 

 

 

 

A wife to die for

“I love being my husband's wife.”
--Julianna Margulies

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- I haven’t met Mrs. Victoria “Marivic” Griengo-Mabilog in person, but based on what I have heard in the news about her these past years, I think she is the kind of wife any husband will die for unconditionally.
Of all the elected public officials in the Philippines humiliated by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in his dubious “narco list”, only former Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog got a blistering open and all-out support from a wife, so far.
Mrs. Mabilog, who can swear to any ghost in heaven that her husband is innocent, had the guts to call the president a “liar.”
Mrs. Mabilog--or the Mabilog family--probably have had enough.
Any wife, a mother or a sister, can feel what Mrs. Mabilog felt when her husband was verbally abused repeatedly in national media, kicked while down on all four, subjected to unconscionable indignity, and treated like a worthless human being even if he wasn’t fighting back.
It seems the president was hell-bent not only to kill Mayor Mabilog’s enthusiasm for public service, but also his spirit as a human being.

-o0o-

If you are a victim of a false accusation, a slanderous and baseless imputation, a black propaganda and toxic politics, and your wife happens to be Mrs. Mabilog, who believes in your absolute innocence, you’re not doomed.
Judging from her passionate and fiery rebuttal of the president’s soliloquy linking her husband to a despicable activity based only on a fringe “intelligence report”, Mrs. Mabilog is the type of wife who will bite the bullet for her husband; a wife who’s willing to transform into a Medusa, a winged human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair, and turn into stone those who will cast aspersion on her beloved husband.
The presidential persecution actually was too much; it’s over kill and already OA (overacting).
Is Mayor Mabilog really the worst politician in the Philippines?
What will President Duterte feel if one day, a political enemy will become president, by a stoke of luck, and also humiliate his son, Paolo; or daughter, Sara, and insist without any shred of evidence that they are members of international drug syndicate?
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:2)

-o0o-

There are others in President Duterte’s incredible list who may also be innocent like Mayor Mabilog, but their family members--wives, husbands, children--aren’t that intrepid and cocksure like Mrs. Mabilog to engage the foul-mouthed president in a word war.
We suspect some of those 46 politicians in the list could be really engaged in illegal drugs trade.
They should be prosecuted and prevented from being elected into public office; it’s a mockery of the law if they are paid by the taxpayers’ money and yet they promote and benefit from the destruction of those hooked on prohibited substance.
But the innocent should be spared from blatant and perpetual humiliation.
There’s no spare parts for a damaged reputation.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

‘Jed and I are winners,’ says Marivic Mabilog

“Part of being a winner is knowing when enough is enough. Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away, and move on to something that's more productive.”
--Donald Trump

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Even before Mrs. Victoria “Marivic” Griengo-Mabilog declared on her Facebook account on October 17, 2018 that “we have not and will not be endorsing any candidate for mayor in the City of Iloilo” in the Philippines, I already had an inkling about it as early as in May 2018 or five months ago.
I didn’t want to push the cart ahead of the horse and to be mistaken as a merchant of a cock and bull story, so I waited until after all the candidates for the city mayor have filed their certificates of candidacy (COC); and, more importantly, after Mrs. Mabilog herself has let the cat out of the bag.
And the wife of former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, no longer mealy-mouthed on election matters, has doused cold water on expectations for any endorsement from the camps of incumbent Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III of Nacionalista Party (NP) and Iloilo City lone district Rep. Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas of the National Unity Party (NUP).

-o0o-

The furor about a possible endorsement from the self-exiled former city mayor Mabilog isn’t actually something that’s batting on a sticky wicket in as far as the feuding brothers-in-law--Joe III and Jerry--is concerned.
Espinosa and Treñas, in the first place, are only accidental adversaries.
If President Duterte didn’t harass Mabilog, who was forced to fly the coop for security reasons, the three of them would be facing the opposition under one bandwagon marching together against the Team Dr. Pacita Gonzalez in the May 2019 polls.
I got this “first-hand” information that the Mabilog family won’t choose between the two leading mayoral candidates when I reported, quoting sources, in May that Joe III and Mabilog “might meet” in New York City during the Philippine Independence Day parade on June 4, 2018.
Mrs. Mabilog denied this.

-o0o-

“He (Jed) said No, he does not have any plans of going to New York nor has he spoken to anybody about going to New York,” Mrs. Mabilog told me in a message.
Mrs. Mabilog wasn’t lurking around when she informed me she and her husband are “winners.”
She wrote to me in May 2018: “I am grateful of this episode sa life namon. Some may find it tragic but if we think about it, we are winners in every aspect: The kids have their Dad 24/7, quality time, all the time. Win.
“I have the old Jed back, funny, caring, sans the glitter of the power he used to have. Win.
“Jed goes to Church everyday, regained a deeper faith. Win. Jed does not have to pander to the devil, Duterte, to remain alive and in power. Win.
“I having said that, I truly believe that it was a Divine Intervention that brought us out of the Philippines.”

She admitted that "I am speaking from my heart and that puts me in trouble most of the time."

-o0o-

This was Mrs. Mabilog’s Facebook declaration on October 17, 2018: “There had been too many claims of purported endorsements for several local candidates in the City of Iloilo. Categorically and under our current circumstances, we have not and will not be endorsing any candidate for mayor in the City of Iloilo. We will continue to pray that the good people of Iloilo City will once again, seek in prayer, for an enlightened decision on who is best to lead our beloved city.
“Several good friends had been trying to get our endorsements for either Jerry or Joe. Both are good friends of Jed, but I have my personal take on the two of them too. Jed Patrick E. Mabilog may disagree with me, as he usually does anyway, but I’ll have to say my piece.
“When Jed was under siege from the president, Jerry and Joe knew that Jed was wrongly and unjustly accused and crucified. As someone who is not too adept on the nuances of politics, I was aghast and personally offended of their silence and inability to come to his aid. One friend explained to me that Jerry and Joe also feared that the president may turn his guns on them, hence, their silence and non-involvement. That’s a reasonable fear. I was ok with that. But this was not what I was not ok with: neither one of them bothered to reach out and personally assured Jed that they are one with him in this fight and will work and pray with him so that truth and justice will prevail. Their deafening silence, and nonchalant attitude when Duterte issued a death warrant against Jed by his plan of deploying Jovy Espenido to Iloilo was both painful, offensive and disgusting. Their silence and apparent lack of empathy speak volumes about their character, particularly the advancement of their own personal interests. This was how I felt through my heart.
“Putting my brain to work and using some objectivity, I cannot side with either one because I have not personally witnessed any of them in action as mayors. During Jerry’s full 9-year term, I was in Canada and now on Joe’s more than a year tenure, we are on exile. I leave it to the intelligent voters of Iloilo City to determine whom of the two can best serve the city.
“These are some of my personal reasons why I cannot allow our family to endorse neither candidate. With or without our endorsement, one candidate will win, anyway. In the next three years, Iloilo City will survive well under Jerry or Joe. The City and the people are resilient and are least concerned with the power play at the Mayor’s Office inside the City Hall. The more important issue in my opinion is how the legislative branch can be a major partner in ensuring good governance.
“For this reason, I will be campaigning for the victory of RLeone Boots Gerochi as Vice-Mayor. He has the intellectual acuity, the moral strength, integrity, honesty, determination, fortitude, independence, love for his city, professionalism and dedication to his vocation that none of his opponents have, or at best, very little. I dream that one day, in the future, the likes of him will take up bigger leadership roles in the City.
"Good luck, Iloilo City and may God Bless everyone. Iloilo City. My City My Pride. I am Filipino and Proud to be an Ilonggo.”

‘Where were you when I needed you most?’

“Choose to focus your time, energy and conversation around people who inspire you, support you and help you to grow you into your happiest, strongest, wisest self.”
-- Karen Salmansohn

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- I have misgivings with reports that former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog will endorse local candidates in the top positions in the May 2019 elections.
Since he is not running for any elective position (his dismissal is under appeal in the Supreme Court, according to his wife, Marivic) next year, it’s doubtful if he will issue an official statement endorsing certain candidates.
Why risk antagonizing one group for endearment of another if you can maintain a peace of mind and a stress-free life while watching the political cockfighting in the safe confines of the splendid Canadian territory and far away from the wreckage and bloodbath?
Why stir the hornet’s nest and end up exposing yourself to be stung by the “unforgiving” and “ungrateful” bees?

-o0o-

Some Mabilog supporters who are still undecided have been anxiously waiting for his go signal.
Many of them still conjure up a bedazzling scenario of their idol staging a “surprise” comeback any moment during the election season.
There are village officials, youth leaders, and city hall officials and rank-and-file workers loyal to Mabilog who are smiling at Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III and Rep. Jerry Treñas like bosom friends, but, deep inside, their hearts are still for the self-exiled enemy of President Duterte.
If Mabilog won’t endorse anyone in Iloilo City, no one can blame him.
In fact, he isn’t morally and politically obliged to raise some hands in the coming elections.
He isn’t beholden politically to any Tom, Dick, and Harry.
And besides, where were they when he needed them most?

-o0o-

Malversation of public funds has many forms, stripes, and faces.
There is actually another source of graft and corruption in the Philippine government: cash advance.
Corrupt government officials always find the calamities, other natural disasters, hosting of events, and out-of-town or foreign trips as the perfect opportunities to enrich themselves.
When there is no limit for these rascals to ask for cash advance, it is easy to fill their pockets.
Others become instant millionaires by indulging in indiscriminate cash advances.
Although they are required by the law to liquidate their “expenses”, many dishonest government officials submit liquidation papers that have been “doctored” or supporting documents with tampered or bogus receipts and signatures.
Many of them intentionally delay their liquidation report; sometimes it takes years before their shenanigan is uncovered, when another administration has taken over.
Other thieves in government with unique talent and guts steal the salaries and allowances of job hires or casual workers through cash advances.

-o0o-

That’s why we need a no non-sense Commission on Audit (COA) officials who will never succumb to pressures, coercion, and back-door manipulations.
COA auditors must be independent, fearless, and committed to safeguard the taxpayers’ money.
COA auditors must have strong moral and family values in order to dodge temptations.
They must reject gifts, freebies and expensive goodies, and other material favors from incumbent officials with direct access to the cookie jars.
COA auditors who waltz with corrupt government officials are coddling graft and corruption and should be booted out from office before they could play footsie and resurrect more Frankensteins in the civil service.

‘Right move for Mabilog’

“Can you really send back people to where they are fleeing from?”
--Peter Maurer

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Correct decision and right move.
These would have been the rapturous words of former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog’s supporters if they got the chance to meet after the assassination most recently of two Philippine mayors which happened one day apart.
First to fall was Mayor Antonio Halili of Tanauan City, Batangas, who was shot dead by a sniper while attending the flag ceremony rites in front of the City Hall on July 3.
The next was Mayor Ferdinand Bote of General Tenio, Nueva Ecija, who was killed by assassin’s bullets while being driven out of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) compound in Cabanatuan City on July 4.

-o0o-

Halili had been included in President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s “narco list” and subsequently stripped of bodyguards and power over the police like Mabilog.
Although he was not included in Mr. Duterte’s deadly list, supporters have linked Bote’s murder to that of Halili.
Halili, who insisted he was never involved in illegal drugs, had feared for his life after Mr. Duterte reportedly believed in the “wrong” intelligence report that Halili was a “narco politician.”
The president has threatened “to kill” Mabilog several times in his speeches since last year, insisting that the Ilonggo mayor “is the cousin of slain drug lord Boyet Odicta.”
Based on our own recollection, the president has issued the threats to kill Mabilog seven times in different occasions and places.
His latest tirade against Mabilog was in front of Philippine councilors in Iloilo City two weeks ago.

-o0o-

Like Halili, Mabilog, a Liberal Party (LP) member, repeatedly insisted he was never engaged in illegal drugs and he isn’t related to Odicta.
Mabilog is the second cousin of opposition Senator Franklin Drilon.
The president refused to listen.
He nixed any possible meeting with Mabilog
He did not believe Mabilog and continued to tarnish the mayor’s name in various gatherings where he was invited as the speaker.
Before he was ordered dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman in October 2017 for “unexplained wealth”, Mabilog had already decided not to return in the Philippines after attending a series of conferences in Japan and Malaysia.
His wife, Marivic, and their two children, citing security concerns, left the country and joined him in an undisclosed location.
Aside from Halili and Bote, three mayors linked to illegal drugs have been killed under the Duterte administration.
They were: Samsudin Dimaukom of Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Mindanao; Rolando Espinosa of Albuera, Leyte in the Visayas; and Reynaldo Parohinog of Ozamiz City in Mindanao.
Their deaths were all links to the Duterte administration’s “all-out” war against illegal drugs.

If Marivic isn’t qualified, who will the Mabilogs endorse?

“When politics is no longer a mission but a profession, politicians become more self-serving than public servants.”
--Emmanuel Macron

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The first thing enemies of former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog will agitate is that “Victoria 'Marivic' Griengo Mabilog is a Canadian citizen, thus she is not qualified to run for any public office in 2019.”
This argument is presumably being prepared by Mabilog’s critics amid reports that the former first lady of Iloilo City, who is now out of the Philippines, is being pushed by some Ilonggos to run for city mayor in May 2019.
Only the Commission on Elections (Comelec) can tell if Mrs. Mabilog is qualified or not.
Mrs. Mabilog has not made any official announcement regarding the report.
If Mrs. Mabilog is qualified under the law and decides to throw her hat in the mayoralty race, she will be squaring off with two of her husband’s former chief political allies -- Rep. Geronimo “Jerry” P. Treñas and Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III.

-o0o-

If the law will allow Mrs. Mabilog to run for mayor, she will certainly give the warring gentlemen a titanic headache as she is going to collect all the “wasted” votes when the combined empires of Treñas and Joe III collapse owing to their imminent disintegration.
If Mrs. Mabilog will nix politics, on the other hand, there is no assurance, that the Mabilog couple will take sides in the full-blown political Armageddon between Treñas and Joe III.
Since most of former Mayor Mabilog’s key acolytes are now working with Mayor Espinosa, many City Hall occupants believe the Mabilogs will throw their support behind the incumbent mayor who was Mabilog’s running mate in the 2016 elections.

-o0o-

But a reliable source informed this writer that the Mabilogs “might endorse no candidate for Iloilo City mayor.”
The Mabilogs are still reportedly “hurting” after nobody from the city government--meaning former Mayor Mabilog’s political allies in the city council, including then vice mayor Joe III and Rep. Treñas themselves--stood up to defend the embattled Mayor Mabilog from President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s relentless threats and attacks; and his false accusations that Mayor Mabilog was a “narco politician.”
Even Mayor Mabilog’s second cousin, Senator Franklin Drilon, did nothing to at least cushion the impact of the president’s lethal blows against the hapless Mabilog south of the border.
Whether the Mabilogs also have hard feelings toward their second cousin is something they alone know.
This revelation of a possible “non-support” from the Mabilog family must be painful to both (Treñas and Joe III) parties.
Those who cast doubts and question the motives of this disclosure can always verify the story from “authorized” people-or from the Mabilog husband and wife themselves for more precise and accurate information.

Mabilog, Joe III to meet in New York?

“I'm still passionately interested in what my fellow humans are up to. For me, a day spent monitoring the passing parade is a day well-spent.”
--Garry Trudeau

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- An Ilonggo community leader in New Jersey has disclosed to this writer recently that Iloilo City Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III and his wife, Gina Sarabia-Espinosa, are among the VIPs scheduled to grace the 120th Philippine Independence Day parade in Madison Avenue on June 3, 2018.
The couple will accompany Dinagyang 2018 champion, Tribu Panyanon, and Guimaras’ Manggahan Festival tribe, which were officially invited by the Philippine Independence Day Council Inc. (PIDCI) through past president Joji Juele-Jalandoni, according to the community leader who requested anonymity “because I haven’t yet asked permission from authorized parade officials to reveal the official list of people coming for the event pending their application for visa (in the US Embassy in Manila).”
Another source said former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog was also expected to arrive for the parade and to meet with some Iloilo City officials he hasn’t seen since he went on a sick leave that expired on September 30, 2017 and since his dismissal as city mayor the following month.
The former Iloilo City mayor is believed to be currently staying in Canada "for security reasons."

-o0o-

The Ombudsman ordered Mabilog’s dismissal on October 6, 2017.
He has been out of the Philippines since last year and was believed to have proceeded to Canada together with his family after President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to kill him.
Nobody from Mabilog’s camp or family has confirmed that he was planning to fly to New York for the parade or to have a private meeting with any Iloilo City official.
It was Mabilog who first brought the then 2013 Dinagyang champion, Tribu Panayanon, during the 115th Philippine Independence Day parade in New York City.
During the 2015 RP Independence Day parade, Philippine Consulate officials in New York City invited Mabilog as among the few VIPs together with then senator and now foreign affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano to join the flag-raising ceremonies in the RP Consulate on Fifth Avenue but he didn’t arrive.
No Dinagyang tribe participated in the 119th Parade in 2017.
Before his dismissal, Mabilog, who was on his third and last term, was reportedly being endorsed by his supporters to seek a congressional seat in the lone district of Iloilo City currently held by Rep. Jerry Treñas.

-o0o-

Sources said Mabilog “might use the occasion to meet with Mayor Joe III Espinosa and Mabilog’s other former allies in city hall who will be part of the parade entourage.”
Among those coming are Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation chair Ramon Cua Locsin and Iloilo City tourism officer Junel Ann Divinagracia.
Espinosa III served as vice mayor during Mabilog’s term as city mayor.
Espinosa III, Treñas, and majority of the members of the Iloilo City Council are now with the PDP-Laban, the political party of Mabilog’s tormentor, President Duterte.
It was not immediately known whether Mabilog, who still has plenty of followers in Iloilo City, would endorse Treñas’ bid for city mayor in 2019 and Espinosa, who is rumored to be running for congressman but hasn’t revealed anything in public other than confirming that he is “definitely running in 2019.”
Mabilog, Treñas, and Espinosa III composed the so-called “dreaded political triumvirate” that ruled Iloilo City politics in the early 2000 since the departure from politics of the late former Senator Rodolfo Ganzon and the late justice Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez Sr.
They have been tagged as “unbeatable and unbreakable” until Duterte won as president in 2016 and booted Mabilog out from Iloilo city hall in 2017.
They were all backed by Liberal Party (LP) bigwig, Senator Frank Drilon, Mabilog’s second cousin and No. 1 endorser of defeated presidential aspirant Mar Roxas.

Treñas’ foes try to link him to illegal drug

“Politics have no relation to morals.”
-- Niccolo Machiavelli

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Some of the possible rivals of Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Treñas for city mayor have started to sharpen their knives now that the congressman has declared his intention to run again in 2019.
In order to stymie his candidacy, some of Treñas’ prospective opponents have begun “establishing” his supposed links with the slain drug lord, Melvin “Boyet” Odicta Sr.
The disgraced drug kingpin, who was slain together with his wife, Merriam, in Caticlan, Aklan on August 28, 2016, reportedly cemented his narcotics fiefdom when Treñas was city mayor in 2001-2010.
It did not mean, however, that William Hale “Big Bill” Thompson was in cahoots with the mobsters only because he was the mayor of Chicago when Al Capone terrorized the Windy City.
True or not, Treñas can’t remain silent on the issue.
Sooner or later, he will be forced to answer the accusation lock, stock, and barrel, especially when the election campaign officially starts.
He can afford shrug off the issue today and consider it as a mere “mosquito bite” since it is not yet certain whether he is really running for city mayor or just trying to bluff certain characters.

-o0o-

It was the issue on illegal drugs that prematurely put an exclamation point to the city hall stint of dismissed Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, although many of his supporters maintain until today he was innocent and only a victim of political vendetta.
We have been warned always that if we ignore the danger signs, they could spell our ignominy when we least expect it.
Mabilog, confident of his innocence, and his supporters could not believe that a mere “mosquito bite” would turn into a poisonous wound inflicted by a deadly Python when no less than the misinformed Presiden Duterte swallowed the canard hook, line, and sinker.
A lie repeated several times becomes the truth, according to Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.
But even the truth in politics, more often than not, can’t save any politician from the pit of destruction.
And the rest is history.

-o0o-

Even without a resolution from the Iloilo Provincial Board calling for a speedy investigation of the murder of STL operator Samuel Aguilar, the Iloilo Provincial Police Office (IPPO) must pursue all angles and run after the perpetrators.
It doesn’t matter whether the victim was a VIP or an ordinary person. Murder is murder; a crime has been committed in broad daylight when unidentified gun men ambushed Aguilar’s vehicle in Barangay Buyuan, Tigbauan, Iloilo on March 13, 2018.
If a prominent personality can be killed despite the presence of his bodyguards, there is no guarantee that an ordinary victim who walks alone or rides in any vehicle won’t be waylaid and shot fatally by any criminal.
Aguilar was not the first “big name” in the gambling business killed in Iloilo.
Five years ago, Jimmy Punzalan, a retired Philippine Constabulary sergeant and believed to be also engaged in numbers game, was also murdered in cold blood by unknown assailants while resting in his restaurant in Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao, Iloilo City.
Punzalan’s killing was never solved.
Let’s hope the twin murders were not connected.

Treñas, Joe III shutting the political doors

“In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.”
--George Orwell

By Alex P. Vidal

NEWARK, New Jersey -- As expected, those who are for and against Iloilo City lone district Rep. Jerry P. Treñas couldn’t hide their emotions when he disclosed over the weekend his intention to run again for city mayor in 2019.
For those who admire Treñas, the announcement was like a Broadway music to their ears.
For those who hate him, especially those intending to run for city mayor but are nervous to square off with him owing to his “vast” machinery and name-recall edge, the disclosure of Treñas 2019 candidacy was like a rhythmic sound from a horror or zombie film.
In fact, the announcement of Treñas’ candidacy was already “too much to bear” for the opposition.

-o0o-

The unexpected ascension to power of Iloilo City Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III in October 2017 was already a big blow to the opposition which was having a field day watching Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog being destroyed by President Duterte’s repeated but unfounded accusations of being a “narco politician.”
The opposition waited on tenterhooks for Mabilog to capitulate from Duterte’s demolition apparatus and deliver their own coup de grâce in time for the 2019 political derby.
The opposition believed that during election time, it’s easy to clobber the badly battered Mabilog just in case he aspired for congress.
But the picture changed abruptly when the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed Mabilog and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) installed then acting city mayor Espinosa III in a full-fledged capacity.
By being given the chance and privilege to become “instant” mayor and finish Mabilog’s remaining term, Espinosa III was able to expand his wherewithal and pull ahead of his potential rivals in 2019 in the event he decides to run for mayor.

-o0o-

If Espinosa III will run for congress in tandem with mayoral bet Treñas next year, it’s tantamount to shutting the door on lesser-known aspirants for the same positions.
In terms of logistics and name-recall, the incumbents always have the peripheral edge in any election.
And if they are the administration candidates, their opponents would need a stairway to heaven to mount a miracle to win.
Not to underestimate them, the opposition still parades a wealth of quality leaders the Ilonggos can be proud of like Dr. Pacita Trinidad-Gonzalez, her daughter Dr. Marigold “Gold” Gonzalez, Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon, Councilors Joshua Alim and Plaridel Nava, businessman-journalist Rommel Ynion, former councilor Rolando Dabao, and former Erap impeachment trial prosecutor Daniel Cartagena, to name only a few.

-o0o-

Treñas’ candidacy will, however, bring additional agony and headache for the opposition which, for the past four consecutive elections, could not find the magic key to unlock the path to the winning column.
After absorbing defeat after defeat, the opposition continues to scramble for politically sturdy candidates who can match the ferocity of the Mabilog-Treñas-Espinosa III triumvirate.
Minus Mabilog, Treñas and Espinosa III appear to be capable of closing the gates for other aspirants.
All they need is to swap.