"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend."
--Thomas Jefferson
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- It is becoming obvious that in repeatedly tormenting Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog with unfounded accusations that the Ilonggo mayor is engaged in narco-politics, President Rodrigo Duterte's real target is Senator Franklin Drilon.
For the nth time, the president, without any solid proof, mentioned Mabilog's alleged involvement in illegal drugs--out of the blue.
The president also reportedly erroneously referred to Mabilog anew as the "cousin" of slain drug lord Melvin "Boyet" Odicta Sr.
He was actually aware that Mabilog is Drilon's second cousin.
President Duterte must have read Law 46 of Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power that states: "Never appear too perfect!---Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity."
But in making Mabilog as veritable punching bag, the president unwittingly "violates" the book's Law 19 which exhorts that "Know who you are dealing with---do not offend the wrong person."
ALLY
Aside from having been marked as the chief ally of defeated Liberal Party (LP) presidential bet Mar Roxas, President Duterte considers Drilon as a colossal obstacle in the measures and programs that he intends to introduce in the senate.
As one of the most senior members of the minority bloc and a former senate boss to boot, Drilon still has the respect of his peers and wields influence on many of those in the majority bloc.
In the soon-to-be-debated death penalty bill, for instance, Drilon is expected to fight tooth and nail, along with fellow LP and some "independent" senators to oppose it.
The president must be jittery that Drilon, et al could derail or even steamroll his pet bills and other programs once they reach in the upper chamber.
Mr. Duterte appears to have succeeded in transforming the House of Representatives into his toy soldiers courtesy of the iron-grip tactics employed by Speaker Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez.
JUDICIARY
He is also poised, God forbid, to possibly get a ballroom dance with the judiciary with the recent appointments of Supreme Court Associate Justices Samuel Martires and Noel Tijam.
We are not saying though that the president could now solidly hold the courts in the scrotum, but it looks like only the senate has become the Last of the Mohicans.
Aside from Sen. Drilon, Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Bam Aquino, Francis Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson, Riza Hontiveros, and detained Leila de Lima could still give the president a potential migraine.
The same senators did not join the dinner party with the president held in Malacañang on March 14.
A dream grand slam or political coup de grace may be impossible to attain if Drilon, et al are not neutralized.
"There are lots of people who mistake their imagination for their memory."
--Josh Billings
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- President Rodrigo Duterte linked anew Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog to the illegal drug trade not because an evidence has been found to support the president's first accusation.
If Mabilog has become Mr. Duterte's favorite punching bag each time he lambasted local chief executives involved in illegal drugs, it's because the city mayor is the cousin of Senator Franklin Drilon, an opposition leader and chief supporter of Duterte's rival in the recent presidential race, Mar Roxas.
In absence of any damning evidence, it is becoming apparent that Mabilog is only a collateral damage in the feud between the president and the Liberal Party bigwigs.
Mabilog's critics took advantage of his closeness to Drilon and linked him to illegal drug trade even if there was no corpus delicti to support the slanderous accusation.
REMEMBER
President Duterte remembered Mabilog's name in a speech during the turnover of a drug rehabilitation facility in Davao del Norte February 24. He bewailed, "Naay mayor ug mga syudad. Ang usa diha ig-agaw ni Drilon, si Mayor Mabilog sa Iloilo City, ug daghan pa (The list also contains names of city mayors. One of them is Drilon's cousin, Mayor Mabilog of Iloilo City, and many others)."
I personally don't believe that Mabilog is engaged in business or protection racket of illegal drugs.
Mabilog's enemies may have used his "friendship" with suspected drug pusher Jingjing Espinosa, a barangay councilman, as the basis to include his name in the so-called "Duterlist" that contains the names of mayors, governors, policemen, judges, lawyers, and showbiz personalities allegedly involved in narco-politics.
Many times in the past the president erred in mentioning some names and their affiliations. The president once erroneously announced that Mabilog is the "cousin" of slain drug lord Melvin "Boyet" Odicta.
MISTAKE
Mr. Duterte was probably referring to Drilon, but mistakenly mentioned Odicta's name.
Espinosa, grandson of former Rep. Pascualing Espinosa Sr., reportedly became Mabilog's political ally when the city mayor upset the late former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez in the May 2010 mayoral contest.
There were fears that Gonzalez hired the services of priest killer Norberto Manero during the campaign period.
Espinosa, who is now back in Iloilo jail for an old frustrated homicide case, was reportedly seen as an effective antidote to neutralize any threat that may have been posed by Manero a.k.a. Kumander Bukay.
But after Mabilog secured reelection wins over Rommel Ynion in 2013 and Dr. Gold Gonzalez in 2016, Espinosa was still reportedly visible in Mabilog's camp even if Manero was no longer around.
"If you call your opponent a politician, it's grounds for libel."
--Mark Russell
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- As a community journalist, I am personally saddened by the decision of Pasay City, Philippines Regional Trial Court Branch (RTC) 188 Presiding Judge Rowena Nieves A. Tan to convict former Iloilo Press and Radio Club president Manuel "Boy" Mejorada for libel.
The case was filed by Senator Franklin Drilon in 2014 after Mejorada, a former Iloilo provincial administrator, criticized the "overpriced" P700-million Iloilo Convention Center (ICC) and the "anomalous" use of the senator's pork barrel fund in his Iloilo City projects.
A libel case in the Philippines carries a penalty of imprisonment.
A convicted journalist will be cuffed like an ordinary criminal, a blot in the image of a democratic state that prides itself as having the "freest press" in the world.
Mejorada, who lives in Iloilo City, has been sentenced to spend time in prison for up to four years.
MOTION
If the Motion for Reconsideration to be filed by his lawyer within 15 days since the sentence was out will be denied, a warrant for Mejorada's arrest is imminent.
He will have to travel from Iloilo City to Pasay City just to be placed behind bars.
This is the kind of "agony" and inconvenience enemies of press freedom would like to happen to purveyors of truth and adherents of transparency in government.
We are worried because Mejorada, who has been a community journalist for more than 30 years now and a senior in media profession, will have to deal with his case in a faraway Pasay City in Metro Manila, considered as "a lion's den."
If this could happen to a veteran journalist, any media practitioner who will anger with commentaries and reports powerful and influential political figures in the country like the former senate president, could also suffer the same fate.
In a democratic country like the Philippines, the last thing people would want to see is a news or opinion writer or anchorman being manacled and padlocked in jail for exercising his freedom of speech and expression.
PROSPER
We are aware that a libel case is not supposed to prosper against members of the Fourth Estate in the Philippines.
We are not prejudging the Motion for Reconsideration to be filed by Mejorada in the sala of Judge Tan, and, possibly in the Court of Appeals (CA), but there have been so many Supreme Court rulings in the past that reversed libel convictions involving journalists in the lower courts--from RTC to CA.
Even public officials like Drilon know that in Philippine jurisprudence, no Supreme Court decision was ever decided with finality against newsmen accused of libel.
Even the late former President Corazon Aquino, who hauled to court the late famous journalists Max Soliven and Luis Beltran in one of the most celebrated libel cases in the country, lost in the Supreme Court.
"Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much."
--Blaise Pascal
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- When President Duterte called Iloilo City as the "most shabulized" city in the Philippines and named Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog as among the 159 local government executives in the entire country allegedly linked to narcotics trade in August 2016, Senator Frank Drilon expressed "hurt" and "sadness" that the City of Love has been "tarnished."
Drilon never exonerated his second cousin Mabilog.
“Let me state that I am saddened and hurt that the perception that Iloilo local officials are involved in the drug trade became the basis of such a sweeping description of Iloilo," Drilon sharply reacted.
"All the efforts of the Ilongos for the past five years to make Iloilo an attractive and progressive investment destination and a livable city is negated by a sweeping judgment of the city and province of Iloilo."
Ilonggos have been waiting for Drilon to at least vouch for Mabilog, who had to agonize once again when he and fellow mayors faced his tormentor in Malacanang for another round of admonition on January 12, 2017.
The former senate president has been mum over Mabilog's predicament.
DINAGYANG
Last January 22, 2017 before the start of the ati-ati tribes contest of the Dinagyang Festival at the Freedom Grandstand in Iloilo City, Drilon reiterated his concern and love for the city, but never mentioned anything that could buoy Mabilog's spirit in as far as the mayor's dilemma with President Duterte is concerned.
Drilon announced: “We made a vow that in five years time, we will change the face of Iloilo. Today we are proud. Iloilo is the most progressive city in the whole country."
“We made this change possible because of everyone’s support, because of a united leadership. This is why we’re able to move forward.”
Although the Liga ng Barangay (League of Barangays) headed by Reyland Hervias as well as Hervias' colleagues in the Iloilo City Council have rallied behind the embattled Mabilog, it cannot be denied that he is still hurting from President Duterte's tirades.
HIGHER
If there is any public official who holds a higher office in the country today who knows Mabilog so well, it's Drilon.
Any statement from a highly-regarded politician like Drilon that would at least contradict or belie the accusation made by President Duterte against the No. 5 World Mayor, can more or less mitigate the burden Mabilog has been carrying inside his heart.
It can also help disabuse the minds of those who swallowed President Duterte's allegations against Mabilog hook, line, and sinker.
For many Ilonggos who follow the issues on narco mayors in the country, only Drilon's sympathetic words can help assuage Mabilog's frazzled emotion; and, perhaps, influence the thinking of some of those who have written off Mabilog politically as a result of that negative tag.
