Most abused mayor in the world

"Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions. When there is no sharing of power, no rule of law, no accountability, there is abuse, corruption, subjugation and indignation."
--Atifete Jahjaga

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- With the way he is being persecuted by the Duterte administration, Dr. Jed Patrick Mabilog could go down in history as the most abused city mayor not only in the Philippines, but also all over the world.
The abuse is not only verbal, but mental and emotional.
To be tagged as coddler of drug traffickers repeatedly by no less than the President (when in truth and in fact, he is not), is already the worst abuse any incumbent local chief executive could get.
The shame, embarrassment, humiliation, and indignity of being ranked alongside with the dregs of society without any morsel of truth, is already a mental and emotional torture.
To add insult, a police with the rank of chief inspector had joined the fray and reportedly dared Mabilog "to surrender" as if the city mayor was a convicted criminal in hiding.
If he really said that, this is the first time we heard a police officer with a lower rank boldy haranguing an elected civilian chief of a highly urbanized city without any regard to the mayor's authority and seniority in civil service.

NAPOLCOM

If this is not conduct unbecoming and unprofessionalism, we don't know what it is. The National Police Commissiom (Napolcom) should investigate this overexcited cop who has been reassigned in Iloilo City. Is this the way you orient your cops, Gen. Bato?
Whatever the reason why President Duterte has stubbornly continued to link the well-mannered and clean-living Mabilog to illegal drugs when he couldn't even substantiate it (the accuations were reportedly based on hearsays and "tips" from Mabilog's vindictive and jealous political detractors), he alone knows.
It, of course, boggles the minds of the Ilonggos who know Mabilog pretty well.
All the allegations against Mabilog have not been proven and contrary to reports of agencies concerned like the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which has repeatedly cleared Mabilog.
Only the angels in heaven have not descended on earth to tell the president that he is wrong to condemn an innocent man.
Even the pilgrims in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales will swear to God that Mabilog is not engaged in narco-politics as the President had alleged.

PERSONALITY

Soft-spoken Mabilog doesn't have a gung-ho personality despite the dirty brickbats thrown his way. He doesn't fire back using foul words at critics. Quality of a true, highly-educated and religious leader.
In fact, some supporters have ribbed him for being too soft and kind even to his most trenchant political enemies.
Detractors called him names and a coddler of drug syndicates, Mabilog offered them prayers.
They're lucky Mabilog is not the late Mayor Roding Ganzon who called his persecutors "bastos" (uncivilized) and who fought tongs and hammer with his tormentors, including the late former President Cory Aquino.
He never gave the Mabilog family any shame and scandal and was never involved in any crime when he was younger. Instead, he elevated the pride of his family, the pride of the Ilonggos when he was chosen as the No. 5 city mayor in the world two years ago. He gave all Ilonggos reason to be proud of Iloilo City with all the success the "City of Love" is reaping in terms of infrastructure, economic and tourism development.
The more they pummeled Mabilog with abusive words, the more he lowered his head in submission like a true biblical Christian; the more he gets sympathies from people from all walks of life in the Philippines and abroad who monitor his predicament from Malacanang.
And the world is watching. 

Angry at attempt to destroy Iloilo City, elected officials

"If you know something is morally reprehensible, then it is your moral obligation to stop it as soon as possible."
--Jane Velez-Mitchell

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- As a true-blooded Ilonggo and community journalist, I will never allow merchants of lies, canards, and chaos to destroy the good name of Iloilo City in the Philippines built by our forefathers.
I will never sit down and act like hackneyed kibitzer while my city and our leaders are being sledge-hammered by purveyors of half-truth, intrigues, and political vendetta.
The most "shabulized" city in the Philippines? Look first at Ozamis, war-torn Marawi, and other big metropolis in Metro Manila where shabu warehouses have yielded billions of worth of illegal substances.
Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog engaged in narco-politics? The cheapest Goebbels-inspired obloquy and hyperbole ever floated with no basis at all in truth, in fact, and in reality! Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
Like any other Ilonggos, I have a moral obligation to defend my city and its leaders--regardless of their political and religious affiliations--from external moronic and destructive yet unfounded accusations and innuendos, which, if left unchallenged and uncorrected, would harm the Ilonggos' moral fiber and create irreparable mayhem on their culture and psyche as peace-loving citizens.
In hours of great moral crisis, we are not supposed to play deaf, blind and mute. The hottest place in hell, according to Dante, is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.

NECESSARY

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, exhorted Edmund Burke, is for good men to do nothing.
Ilonggos are decent, educated, religious, intrepid, generous, and humble. They have produced great leaders and contributed abundantly in the political, economic, religious, and cultural evolution of the Filipino race.
If our family, community, culture, morality, values and honor are under attack by a horde of cantankerous and homicidal maniacs, we can't afford to remain neutral.
When we do nothing and think nothing while our reputations are being torn to shreds by voodoo practitioners, pagans, nincompoops, backdoor players, con artists, darkroom operators, spin doctors, dicey crime-busters, rumormongers, and pseudo-moral crusaders, we allow evil to win.
Silence and apathy become our imminent Waterloo.
I love Iloilo City, the "City of Love", the Athens of the Philippines and cradle of heroism and common sense. And I am proud of our folklore and heritage.
I love and support our elected leaders even if I criticize their faults and imperfections. (Some of the public figures who tasted "terror" from my mighty pen were bosom friends if not kumare and kumpare. In journalism, friendship is one thing; commitment to uphold the truth and decency and serve the public through the mass media is another thing.)

HEALTHY

Constructive criticism is healthy in a democratic state. When we criticize our public officials, we don't destroy them. It's not something akin to bullying.
We help locate and discover their errors and shortcomings so they won't repeat the same mistakes again. Criticism helps strengthen our public officials' character and efficiency; and if they are not immature and uncultured, we end up as partners in nation building. 
It is no longer constructive when we wish--and even sharply "pray"--for our public officials' destruction through violent death or assassination over imagined crimes and litany of sins only the ruffians and dolts in the Alfred Hitchcock films are capable of committing.
We have evolved by leaps and bounds since the time when hatred and intrigues were used as basis to execute heads of states and prominent monarchy damsels, queens and kings like Marie Antoinette, falsely accused of uttering "Let them eat cake" when the French people had no more bread to eat.

SOLID

We impeach characters based on remarkable and solid facts, not innuendos and hearsays. We observe due process and acknowledge that after presenting both sides of the coin, only then can we ascertain the chaffs from the grains.
When we are frustrated and not satisfied with our leaders' performance, we don't shoot from the hips and injure bystanders.
Manchester Guardian reminds us that "Comment is free, but facts are sacred."
Even in faraway United States, I continue to chronicle events in our locality from time to time; I have never abandoned my crusade and advocacy for a peaceful community and graft-free government.
As a blogger, columnist and correspondent, I consider myself as an active participant in the modern Agora, which has expanded in the social media since the Oracle of Delphi decreed that Socrates was the wisest person in Athens for helping reform the society as a social, political, and cultural gadfly.

SHIELD

My moral obligation to shield Iloilo City and its leaders from imminent political havoc and moral decay brought by the current dyzzing zarzuela on anti-dope war includes an unflinching committment to shatter the myth of absolutism that pervades the national leadership.
Any overt or covert police raid in any establishment and residential area--owned by a public official or ordinary Juan de la Cruz-- not covered by lawful order or without any legal basis should be considered null and void ab initio.
No amount of hoary justification can supersede the rule of law.
Appeal to the rapscallions in the Philippine National Police and their over-excited minions in the ruling political party: don't do in Iloilo City what you did in Albuera, Leyte and Ozamis City. History will be unkind.

Don't compare Mabilog to Parojinog

"I'm not afraid of death, but I resent it. I think it's unfair and irritating. Every time I see something beautiful, I not only want to return to it, but it makes me want to see other beautiful things. I know I'm not going to get to all the places I want to go."
-- Viggo Mortensen

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- As an Ilonggo (I was born and raised in Iloilo City in the Philippines), I find it revolting to hear some people compare Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog to the slain Ozamis City Mayor Reynaldo “Aldong” Parojinog, Sr.
I find it even more vexing when detractors excitedly parroted that Mabilog would be "the next in line" after Parojinog, who was killed together with his wife, Susan, and 13 others in a dawn raids conducted by the Philippine National Police in the mayor's residence on July 30.
No one can tell exactly why and how Parojinog and his ilk were peppered with bullets except for media reports that they allegedly reacted violently when police raiders tried to issue the search warrants at several of Parojinog's properties in Barangays Baybay San Roque and Baybay Santa Cruz around 2:30 a.m.
Before Parojinog's brutal slaughter, his family was already known nationwide to have been involved allegedly not only in distribution of illegal drugs, but also in other heinous crimes.

MENTIONED

Both Mabilog and Parojinog may have been mentioned by President Rodrigo R. Duterte as among the local chief executives in the Philippines to be allegedly involved in narco politics, but they definitely were not in the same class.
In terms of family background, education, intellect, accomplishments in public service, and values, Mabilog and Parojinog may be oceans apart.
The other difference is it has been established that Duterte had wrongly identified Mabilog as "the cousin of (suspected drug lord Melvin "Boyet) Odicta" while Parojinog belonged to a clan that ostensibly had criminal records (they were allegedly the remnants of the notorious "Kuratong Baleleng" that terrorized Metro Manila with kidnapping for ransom activities in the 90s).
Mabilog is the second cousin of opposition Senator Franklin Drilon, not Odicta.
If Duterte's tipsters could not establish this fundamental information, they have no business to tarnish the reputation of any Tom, Dick and Harry.

FAILURE

A failure in intelligence means these bungling field agents could become a liability instead of assets in the president's campaign against illegal drugs.
There are mayors and even governors in the Philippines who are more blatant and with irrefutable criminal involvement and inclinations, but were never placed in the spotlight or threatened with violent death.
Mabilog has been more deeply involved in civic and religious activities, and was never implicated in any crime even before he became a public servant.
Mabilog's enemies used his "friendship" with another suspected drug lord Jingjing Espinosa (who is now in jail for frustrated murder) as the basis to link him in narco-politics.
Mabilog comes from a decent and respected religious family in Molo district. He had or still has a foundation that helps the poor, the youth, and the senior citizens.

IMPLICATE

To implicate him in illegal drugs is like implicating Desdemona in Lago's plot to kill Emilia in Othello.
Mabilog's aggressive campaign against illegal drugs belies all the innuendos that he is into narco politics. Their lies defy the logic.
The vicious issue or issues being levelled against Mabilog were unheard of when he was first elected as city councilor, vice mayor, and now city mayor on his last term. It was politics or his links with the opposition, especially to Drilon, that gave him the albatross.
After Parojinog's assassination, some of Mabilog's detractors were so excited to push him in line of Duterte's death list.
Do these characters really want Mabilog dead because they are convinced he is evil?
Or they only want to reaffirm and marshal their hatred and bitterness toward the man because of his stunning political success, and use the precarious situation he is in today to satisfy and fulfill their whims and caprices?

Clear Malones first before clearing Maasin

"Whoever blushes is already guilty; true innocence is ashamed of nothing."
--Jean-Jacques Rousseau

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- It was Mayor Mariano Malones of Maasin, Iloilo in the Philippines, who was falsely accused of being involved in narco-politics.
Malones, his family and political supporters, have endured humiliation for several months now from the wrong accusation.
If there is someone who should be cleared first, it is the mayor.
Maasin, known for its world-class bamboo products, was never considered as hotbed of illegal drugs.
Even residents of Maasin will never believe that cases of illegal drugs in the town's 50 villages are at alarming stage.
It is but proper that the Oversight Committee of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA-6) and the Police Regional Office (PRO-6 should first settle the issue on Malones.
The League of the Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP-Iloilo) has been fighting for Malones' innocence after President Rodrigo R. Duterte tagged Malones, along with Calinog Mayor Alex Centena, Carles Mayor Salagunting Betita, and Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog as allegedly involved in protection racket of illegal drugs.
The scheduled declaration of Maasin as "drug-free" in a ceremony on July 14 is good, but it's like pushing the cart ahead of the horse.

-o0o-

Instead of agreeing to fight WBO 147-lb champion Jeff Horn in a rematch, we suggest that Sen. Manny Pacquiao should retire and give other promising boxers the chance to fight for the world crown.
It will be a good match if Horn will face Amir Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) in his first title defense.
Both Horn and Khan have almost the same hieght and style.
Horn and Khan fight like Marcos Maidana and Victor Ortiz. They move forward like roller coasters and they aren't afraid to slug it out against the aging Pacquiao, who is arguably one of the most destructive prizefighters to ever walk on this planet but who is already past his prime.
Horn shouldn't push his luck by asking for a Floyd Mayweather Jr. duel.
Mayweather, who will fight UFC phenom Conor McGregor on August 26 in Las Vegas, will eat the Aussie alive.

Chinua Achebe and our own 'Digong'

"Remember that politics, colonialism, imperialism and war also originate in the human brain."
--Vilayanur S. Ramachandran

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- "You crazies and sons of a whore leave us alone. Don't impose your culture on us."
President Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte's curt message to the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) is also an attack on a lingering colonialism in the criticism of his administration's bloody assault on narcotics by non-Filipinos.
Duterte wanted to emphasize his method to eviscerate peddlers and--to some extent--users of illegal drugs is none of the business of outsiders.
The Filipinos make their own laws, the Filipinos implement their laws.
The piling up of bodies in the streets is a byproduct of Duterte's all-out war against illegal drugs, his campaign promise that earned him 16 million votes in the 2016 presidential elections.
Duterte thus became the Philippines' version of Chinua Achebe. What Achebe is in literature, Duterte is in politics.

CRITIC 

A well-known Nigerian novelist and critic, Chinua Achebe has produced numerous novels, short stories, and critical essays over the past decades.
His essay "Colonialist Criticism" is an attack on a lingering colonialism in the criticism of African literature by non-Africans. The African writer writes the text or 'they produce literature, their literature goes to Europeans for analysis. Every African literature has to get thought the grids of European writers.
Born on November 16, 1930 in Ogidi, Anambra and died on March 21, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts, Achebe's best known critical essay is a discussion of racism in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which he gave originally as a lecture at the University of Massachusetts in 1975 and is reprinted in Hopes and Impediments.
It evoked both high praise and strong antipathy on the spot and has given rise to further discussion and response as questions of racism and colonialsm have been more vigorously debated.
Given originally as a lecture at a meeting of the Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies at Makerere University, Uganda, it is an attack on lingering colonialism in the criticism of African literature, mainly but not entirely by non-Africans.

CRITICISM

The faults of this criticism stem from implied assumptions that the African writer is a "somewhat unfinished European" and that somehow outsiders can know Africa better than the native writers.
These assumptions lead to, among other things, the specious man-of-the-worlds theory of the African intellectual and imply a continued European arrogance
Achebe's principal theoritical point involves his rejection of universalism, represented by critical statements that generalize the particularity out of African literature.
The two problems of universalism, according to Achebe, are, first, that the presumed universality that critics find is merely a synonym for the "narrow self-serving parochialism of Europe" and, second, that every literature must "speak of a particular place, evolve out of the necessities  of its history, past and current, and the aspirations and destiny of its people."

UNIVERSAL

It would seem, then, that if there is to be a concrete universal in African literature it must stem from a much deeper human source than any parochial view can uncover.
But Achebe doesn't say this. Rather, his concentration in on the particular alone, for he puts literature, at least his writings, in service of the need to alter specific things in specific places, especially attitudes.
It is in this context that Achebe defends the "high moral and social earnestness" of Christopher Okigbo (the Philippines' version of Graciano Lopez-Jaena) against the charge of outspokenness.
Achebe's point is that earnestness is appropriate to Okigbo's and his situation and that a certain levity would be inappropriate.

Ilonggo solons not (yet) rubber stamps

"Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life."
--Donald Rumsfeld

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Even members of the Iloilo City Council are getting annoyed and embarrassed that Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog has become the most favorite punching bag of President Rodrigo Duterte each time the president unleashed his irascible wrath against some Liberal Party (LP) bigwigs.
So alarmed and disturbed were the city aldermen and women that they are now willing to help Mabilog collate the city government's programs and/or accomplishments against illegal drugs and make a common stand.
They, too, must be hurting while seeing Mabilog reeling from absurd allegations that the city mayor, ranked No. 5 in the World Mayor two years ago, is a protector of merchants of prohibited substance.
Guided by an impermeable moral compass, the city councilors, led by Vice Mayor Jose III Espinosa, must have felt they could no longer afford to sit down and act like kibitzers while Mabilog was being pounded from pillar to post by a heavy bone-crusher.

-o0o-

We still have faith with our representatives from Western Visayas in the Philippines even if their independence was recently subjected into a microscopic sleuthing by some impatient constituents who thought their unanimous yes votes for death penalty was a tell tale sign of their implied subservience to the Duterte administration.
As if their acid test was not enough, our congressmen and women will again be tested in at least two major issues that will soon be tackled in congress: the impeachment cases versus President Rodrigo Duterte (already filed) and Vice President Leni Robredo (still being floated).
If they reject both impeachment cases (granting that an impeachment case will be officially filed against Robredo), their constituents will never badger them. Life must go on.
Ilonggos are known to always decry any attempt to destabilize the incumbent administration. If any of the two--Duterte and Robredo--will be removed from office, a power vacuum can't guarantee a sustained or immediate political and economic stability. 

NORMAL

If government is on wobbly legs, life for Filipinos will not be normal. 
Nobody would want to have this kind of environment especially if our priority is to provide our children with three square meals a day and send them to school.
If our solons will reject one impeachment and support another, their constituents will suspect that they are playing political favorites and are not taking their mandates seriously.
The Ilonggo constituents will be watching you, Reps. Sharon Garin (Ang Asosasyon Sang Manguguma Nga Bisaya-OWA Mangunguma Inc.);  Atty. Jerry Trenas (Iloilo City); Richard Garin (Iloilo, 1st District); Arcadio Gorriceta (Iloilo, 2nd District); Atty. Arthur Defensor Jr. (Iloilo, 3rd District); Dr. Ferjenel Biron (Iloilo, 4th District); Raul Tupas (Iloilo, 5th District); and Maria Lucille Nava (Guimaras).

Duterte wants to hurt Drilon, not Mabilog

"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.

Duterte appoints new Iloilo, Negros judges

"I love judges, and I love courts. They are my ideals, that typify on earth what we shall meet hereafter in heaven under a just God."
--William Howard Taft

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- If I were House Speaker Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez, I would refrain from further humiliating detained Senator Leila De Lima. 
In his most recent media conference, the former cabinet official of then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo lambasted De Lima calling her as the "No. 1 drug lord in the Philippines."
True or not, in our culture we don't kick somebody who is already down. 
Especially a woman.
We never heard the same level of vitriol and angry words from past speakers like Nicanor Yñiguez, Ramon Mitra Jr., Jose De Venecia, Arnulfo Fuentebella, and Feliciano Belmonte Jr. 

.-o0o-

President Duterte has appointed the following judges for the islands of Panay and Negros: 
-Daniel Antonio Gerardo S. Amular (RTC Branch 35, Iloilo City); 
-Oscar Leo S. Billena (RTC Branch 70 Barotac Viejo, Iloilo);
-Jose E. Mauricio E. Gomez (RTC Branch 71 Barotac Viejo, Iloilo);
-Nelita Jesusa Arboleda-Bacaling (RTC Branch 72 Guimbal, Iloilo);
-Gemalyn Faunillo-Tarol (RTC Branch 76, Janiuay, Iloilo);
-Ernesto L. Abijay, Jr. (RTC Branch 10 San Jose, Antique);
-Josefina Fulo-Muego (RTC Branch 13 Culasi, Antique);
-Phoebe A. Gargantiel-Balbin (RTC Branch 45 Bacolod City, Negros Occidental);
-Edwin B. Gomez (RTC Branch 77 Sipalay City, Negros Occidental);
-Gwendolyn I. Jimenea-Tiu (RTC Branch 60 Cadiz City, Negros Occidental);
-Reginald M. Fuentebella (RTC Branch 73 Sagay City, Negros Occidental);
-Mila D. Yap-Camiso (RTC Branch 74 La Carlota City, Negros Occidental);
-Gertrude Belgica Jiro (MTC Dumangas, Iloilo);
-Kathryn Rose A. Hitalia-Baliatan (MTC Miag-ao, Iloilo);
-Meliza Joan Berano Robite (MTCC Branch 2 Iloilo City);
-Larnie Fleur B. Palma-Kim (MTCC Branch 6, Iloilo City);
-Mark Anthony D.R. Polonan (MTCC Branch 8, Iloilo City);
-Rysty Ann C. Espinosa-Borja (MTCC Branch 9, Iloilo City);
-Joan Marie B. Bargas-Betita (3rd MCTC Malinao-Lezo-Numancia, Aklan);
-Maria Fe Macabales-Taal (3rd MCTC Patnongon-Bugasong-Valderrama, Antique);
-Joevy Paclibar Velnzuela (5th MCTC Sigma-Sapian-Jamindan, Capiz);
-Kathleen Gigante Delantar (MTCC Branch 2 Roxas City, Capiz);
-Jeeli Panaguiton Espinosa (2nd MCTC Buenavista-San Lorenzo, Guimaras);
-Bienvenido B. Llanes Jr. (MTC Pontevedra, Negros Occidental);
-Jose Meno C. Ruiz (MTCC Escalante City, Negros Occidental);
-Jose Manuel A. Lopez (MTCC Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental); and
-Maria Concepcion Elumba Rivera (MTCC, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental).

-o0o-

WE can't blame Mayor Alex Centena of Calinog, Iloilo if his presence has been sorely missed in important gatherings like the League of Municipalities. 
Ever since President Duterte mentioned Centena's name as among those allegedly included in narco-politics, the dashing former chair of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) during the Marcos years has reportedly refused to join in various social and political events in Iloilo.
"He has become security conscious," noticed a former broadcaster from Cabatuan, Iloilo, who is familiar with Centena's activities during the halcyon years. 
"The mayor stays in his safe house most of the time and his whereabouts can't be ascertained even by some of his municipal staff in regular days and during weekend."

WEIGHT

He became reclusive and lost weight, the former broadcaster added.
Centena have reportedly cancelled all his out-of-town commitments and refused interviews with reporters who come to Calinog.
Duterte has threatened to kill those involved in trafficking and manufacturing of illegal drugs, including some local government executives. 
More than 7,000 have been killed nationwide since the Duterte administration launched the "Oplan Tokhang" against known drug pushers and users.
Centena has repeatedly denied links to any drug lord, but admitted slain Iloilo City-based drug lord Melvin "Boyet" Odicta Sr. once visited his house where he maintains a mini-zoo.

Linking Mayor Mabilog to illegal drug trade a mistake

"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.

Duterte might clear some but not all Iloilo 'narco-mayors'

"Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something."
-- Plato

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Some Filipino-Americans here said Pinoy illegal immigrants in the United States should stop worrying "because the Trump administration will never touch them with a ten-foot pole unless they commit a crime and violate federal laws."
There are so many important things to be prioritized in the White House, according to them.
President Trump's executive order banning entry of Muslims from seven countries for 90 days was part of his campaign promise that he needed to implement or his supporters would rib him, they added.
The controversial executive order has been temporarily suspended after being torpedoed by a state judge.
"Only those with criminal records will be the first to go," Merlinda, wife of a federal official, told me in a birthday party in Manhattan recently.
"Filipinos are not criminals. They have contributed a lot in the labor and economy of the United State. They are not targets of the threat of mass deportation."

-o0o-

Misinformation, not miscommunication, will be the king-sized obstacle of the four Iloilo "narco-mayors" in their quest to clear themselves and convince President Rodrigo Duterte that they're not the illegal drug trade's Real McCoys.
Miscommunication can be remedied because of mass media's active involvement in the issue.
Misinformation will further exacerbate the mayors' woes because of false hopes and false alarm like the recent report that the mayors' names have already been removed from the "Dutertelist."
To "confirm" that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has been tasked to exonerate the mayors is both miscommunication and misinformation.
President Duterte merely asked the DILG to investigate the allegations against the 160 local government executives on the "Dutertelist."


AUTHORIZE


He never authorized the DILG to decide who should be declared innocent and who should remain in the shame list.
The accusation that the 160 local government executives were involved in illegal drug trade came from the president's mouth based on tips provided by his intelligence network and field investigators.
The president regularly airs his diatribes against wrongdoers in police and government--including his cussing- through the media.
If President Duterte will decide to clear anyone, he will even apologize if necessary.
The grapevine said the president might remove the names of some but not all.

Double standard in war vs illegal drugs

“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.” 
― Voltaire

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Here's another case of "double standard" when it comes to dealing with characters involved in illegal drug trafficking in the Philippines.
If the suspect is a street-level drug peddler or drug addict, he is killed in a "shootout" with lawmen "after resisting arrest."
If the suspect is a drug lord, he is accorded a "special treatment" by allowing him to face the media and destroy the reputations of authorities allegedly receiving protection money from the syndicate.
To add insult, the drug lord could escape prosecution if his revelations on the payola scandal would be proven based on the reports below.
Reports from Negros Occidental in the Philippines referred to one Ricky Serenio, 34, of Barangay Singcang-Airport, Bacolod City as "a drug lord under the target list of Negros Island Police Regional Office (PRO)."
Serenio, who has been placed under PRO's witness protection program after he named several members of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), court employees, and media personalities as among those who received regular "payola" from the "boss" he refused to name.

DISMISS

Being placed under the program could reportedly help dismiss the cases against Serenio, "if he can prove that his revelations are true."
Chief Superintendent Renato Gumban, PRO acting regional director, said Serenio, who is under the custody of the Regional Special Operations Task Group, is facing charges for illegal possession of firearms and explosives after police recovered from him a .45 caliber pistol with magazine containing five live ammunition and a fragmentation grenade when he was served with an arrest warrant for grave coercion at Rizal Street, Barangay Zone 9 in Talisay City on January 8, 2017.
Why place Serenio under the witness protection program if the evidence is sufficient to convict him in a fair trial? 
If the cases filed against him will eventually be dismissed only because his revelations were proven, the public trust and confidence on our law enforcers will definitely be eroded.
When small fries are trampled like grasses and the big fishes get away with murder, it will defeat the "all-out war" campaign of President Duterte against illegal drug trafficking.

Death sentence for Iloilo mayors in 'narco' list?

"Do I favor the death penalty? Theoretically, I do, but when you realize that there's a four percent error rate, you end up putting guilty people to death." -- Gary Johnson

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW JERSEY -- I bumped off two stories over the weekend to pave the way for an article I deemed to be more urgent and relevant in the heels of President Duterte's speech during the swearing in of several newly-appointed cabinet officials on January 9 in Malacanang.
President Duterte called "narco-politicians" as "dead men walking."
He vowed to kill big time "shabu" dealers, and the next batch, reports quoted him as saying, would be the city and municipal mayors engaged in illegal drugs and whose names he mentioned weeks after he assumed office in July 2016.
I was so alarmed because some of the mayors President Duterte had linked to illegal drugs based on the list provided by his intelligence men were from my place in Western Visayas.  
They were Jed Patrick Mabilog of Iloilo City, Alex Centena of Calinog, Iloilo; Siegfredo Betita of Carles, Iloilo; and Mariano Malones of Maasin, Iloilo.
Except for Betita, the three are known to me personally. Malones was our former business manager in the News Express; Centena is a friend way back in the 80's when he was not yet a public official; and Mabilog is our mayor in Iloilo City.

DEATH LIST

Are they among those included in President Duterte's so-called death list? 
We want to know. We need to know especially because there has been no solid evidence linking them to illegal drugs.
They could only be victims of political black propaganda or vendetta. They were never convicted by any competent court. 
In fact, no formal charges have been filed against them yet. They were vilified, along probably with several others who could be innocent in the Duterte list, without any formal trial. 
What if the president erred or the list he was reading was a sham and contained falsehood? Since July 2016 when their names were disclosed as alleged drug protectors, the government has failed to substantiate the allegations.
Therefore it's premature to condemn them; it's not fair to punish them with a harsh "death sentence" which could become only another case of extra-judicial killing, God forbid.

LAW

While most Filipinos who elected President Duterte in the May 2016 polls support his campaign to stamp out criminality in the country especially the president's "all-out" war policy against illegal drugs, pressures from human rights advocates, including the United Nations and other international organizations, continued to hound the president as dead bodies piled up in the streets.
Most of those killed in "shootouts" with police were drug addicts and small-time peddlers of illegal substance. Their families claimed the dead were victims of summary execution.
The Philippines doesn't have any law on death penalty. Convicted criminals spend time in jail and are not killed. 
If these mayors are executed when their guilt was not yet proven beyond reasonable doubt--and in the absence of any law that supports the death penalty--the president becomes an executioner and violator of the law, not the dead mayors.