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[av_heading heading=’JED MAY FACE EXTRADITION’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY PRINCE GOLEZ
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January 29, 2018
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Mabilog’s legal woes just starting – Roque
ILOILO City – Former Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog’s leaving the country has not ended his legal problems, according to President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesperson.
“It probably is only beginning,” said Harry Roque who was here yesterday for the Dinagyang Festival.
There is an ongoing investigation on Mabilog whom the President linked to illegal drugs, according to Roque during a press briefing at the provincial capitol of Iloilo.
The Office of the Ombudsman dismissed Mabilog from government service in October last year for unexplained wealth, some two months after he left the country in Aug. 30 to attend international conferences in Japan and Malaysia. He never came back; aides said he sought treatment abroad for diabetes.
The former mayor is believed to be in Canada. His wife Maria Victoria is a Canadian citizen.
The national government seeking Mabilog’s extradition is a possibility, according to Roque.
The Philippines and Canada have an extradition treaty that took effect on Nov. 7, 1989. It is an agreement between the two states to surrender an alleged criminal for the purpose of prosecuting the person or imposing or enforcing a sentence on the person.
Early this month, another dismissal order was issued against Mabilog by the Ombudsman over an alleged anomalous towing services deal.
Under the Philippines-Canada Extradition Treaty, offenses are categorized into two – the extraditable and the non-extraditable.
Extraditable offenses are those acts or omissions punishable under the laws of both countries, either by imprisonment or other deprivation of liberty for a maximum period of at least one year or by a more severe penalty.
Although some acts or omissions may be punishable by imprisonment for a maximum period of at least one year or more, extradition shall not be granted under the following circumstances:
* when the offence is considered political
* when the request for extradition is utterly discriminatory
* when the offence is a violation of military law, which is not an offence under the ordinary criminal law of both countries
* when final judgment has been passed in the requested state; and
* when the prosecution and enforcement of the sentence is barred by the lapse of time.
Since leaving the country, Mabilog had made himself scare even on social media although his wife would every now and then make her presence felt on Facebook.
Last month, the Mabilog couple greeted Ilonggos on Facebook by posting their family photo. It was the first time for the former mayor to publicly surface via social media. He appeared in good health.
“We pray for strength and discernment,” Maria Victoria told Panay News via Facebook.
She has been very vocal in defending her husband from President Duterte’s tirades. Last November in an apparent jab at Duterte on Facebook, she invited him to “please visit our house” in Molo district should he visit this city.
“(S)o that you will have a first-hand knowledge of what our house truly is like, and then you can hold accountable whoever made you a fool when you were made to believe that it is grander than Malacañang,” she stated.
The city government now led by Mayor Jose Espinosa III invited the President to grace the 50th anniversary of Dinagyang Festival. The President, however, failed to come yesterday.
In an Aug. 30 speech in Davao City while describing Malacañang Palace, Duterte said, “Mas gwapo pa ang balay ni Mayor Mabilog…Palasyo. Droga man na. Asa man siya’g kwarta? Ang iyang negosyo? (Mayor Mabilog’s house is more grandiose, a palace. It was because of drugs. Where else would he get the money from? His business)?”
Reacting to the President, Mabilog said, “I can assure the President not a single centavo of dirty money was spent for this home.”
There were claims Mabilog spent P50 million for his residence. According to Maria Victoria, however, it cost “a little less than P8 million.”
“Modesty aside, I and my wife were already running a number of businesses before I joined politics. I was already living a comfortable life in Manila as an entrepreneur when I came home to run for city councilor. I didn’t become rich because of politics, much unlike many politicians,” said Mabilog.
Mabilog served as city councilor from 2004 to 2007 and vice mayor from 2007 to 2010. He was elected mayor in 2010 and reelected in 2013 and 2016./PN
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