Mabilog’s Alleged Php 50 - 70 Million house "Not Quite A Palace’?

In a Facebook post that the Iloilo-based radio station captioned “Kamo na ang maghusgar mga ka Bombo kun matuod ang pahayag ni Presidente Rodrigo Duterte nga palasyo ang balay ni Iloilo City Mayor Jed Mabilog (You be the judge on whether President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog’s house is a palace or not), Bombo Radyo Iloilo posted 36 photos of the inside and out of Mabilog’s House.

Want more pictures from Bombo Radio Iloilo? Click here.

This is after the president released that statement in relation with assigning PCI Jovie Espenido to Iloilo City to handle the drug situation in what the president previously referred to as the most shabulized city in the country.  Duterte subsequently ordered a lifestyle check on the controversial mayor.

Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) is another national radio broadcasting company that was given a chance to enter and take pictures if the house in question.

On their Facebook page, RMN Iloilo also posted 27 pictures of the “palace”.

In addition, they also included in the same post the full text of the Iloilo City mayor’s response to the lifestyle check on him ordered by the President.

"I have nothing to hide. My house, while often described as a palace, is not quite a palace. It is not as big as pictures would make it appear. Last year I opened our doors to the local media for them to see the inside.

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.

My wife had to make huge sacrifices working in Canada for many years, while at the same time making wise investments that were reported in her income tax returns.

Everybody dreams of building a beautiful home. Marivic and I built one not only for ourselves but for our children. And I had hoped to plant seeds of inspiration among Ilonggos that through hard work, they, too, like Jed Mabilog, can achieve their dreams.

I just feel sad that what I had hoped to be a dream home has caused a nightmare experience for me and my family. But I can assure the President not a single centavo of dirty money was spent for this home."

Mabilog’s strongest critics disagree though. One of these is Manuel “Boy” Mejorada who made an expose regarding the “White Mansion” way back in 2015, claiming that the house which was declared worth only Php 3 million pesos was worth a lot more.

Manuel Mejorada

The blog post has long since been deleted, but that did not prevent the information it contained from spreading like wildfire over social media.

For example, Mejorada claimed that Engineers and Architects valued Jed Mabilog’s Mansion between Php 50 to 70 million.

The critic also disputed the mayor’s claims that he inherited the house from his mother.

Here is a copy of his full blog post:

This palatial house sits on the banks of the Iloilo River, with a P90 million Esplanade built for its occupant by the government for the sake of “beautification”.

Its owner, City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, has declared it to be worth only P3 million in his 2014 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth. But architects and engineers estimate the value of this mansion to be in the range of P50-70 million, considering that its windows are the expensive Kenneth and Mock glass windows. The windows alone would be worth P7 million considering the size of the house, according to a wealthy friend who also has Kenneth and Mock windows installed on his house.

Now where did the money come from?

Mabilog said it came from his inheritance from his mother. That’s a blatant lie. His mother was never rich. That lot on which the mansion stands was donated to his mother by the Consing family for whom she had served as “mayor doma” for a long time. If you come to think of it, the property belongs to the family, and not to Jed alone.

Mabilog also points to the work of his wife, Marivic, in Canada. How much does an accountant earn in Canada? She is not even chief executive officer, and the company is small.

It’s time for Mabilog to reveal his sources of income to the people. Ilonggos have a right to know. Did he earn tens of millions of pesos from legitimate business? The Ombudsman says no. Where he got the fabulous sums of money is a mystery that even Sherlock Holmes might have difficulty figuring out. And if the money came from business, did Mabilog report the income to BIR or Kim Henares, and that he paid the right taxes?

So many questions. And yet not a single credible answer from Mabilog.

Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog is second cousin to Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon.