Bato to Mabilog: Tell the truth

Senator Ronald ''Bato'' dela Rosa on Saturday asked former Iloilo City mayor Jed Mabilog to tell the truth and to stop following a “script.”

“Klaruhin niyang script niya kung ano ba talaga ang script na gagampanan niya… Siya lang ang nakakaalam [kung sino nagamit sa kaniya], mahirap magspeculate. Wala akong facts. Hindi ko nakita ko sino kumumbinsi sa kanya, sino pumilit sa kanya [magsinungaling],” he said in a radio interview on Saturday.

(He should clarify what script he is really supposed to follow… He is the only one who knows [who is using him], it’s hard to speculate. I have no facts. I don’t see who convinced him, who forced him [to lie])

The senator mentioned Mabilog’s claim that during an international engagement in 2017, he had made plans to meet then-PNP chief Dela Rosa upon his return from Japan when he was informed by a police general not to return to the country.

Mabilog was allegedly going to be forced to accuse former DILG secretary Mar Roxas and former senator Franklin Drilon as drug lords.

“Ito lang masasabi ko. Bumaliktad na ang mundo ngayon. Ang nagiging hero na ngayon, yung mga drug lord at drug protectors, pinag-clear na yung mga pangalan nila. Tapos ang pinagigipit ngayon, yung mga drug enforcers na,” said Bato.

(This is all I can say. The world has turned upside down. Drug lords have become heroes, and drug protectors are being made to clear their names. Then the ones who are being oppressed now are the drug enforcers.)

He also claimed that Mabilog had only been included in Duterte’s watchlist as Iloilo was a known hub for drug lords, and not because he was not an ally of the former president.

“Napakalayo siya… Kung ganoon ang reasoning niya, buong Pilipinas ilagay lahat ng mayor at gobernador sa drug watchlist dahil alam naman natin sa buong Pilipinas, ilan lang yung sumuporta kay Pangulong Duterte noon, hindi ba?” the senator said.

(He’s too far… If that was his reasoning, then all of the mayors and governors in the Philippines would be placed in the drug watchlist because we know that in the whole country, only a few supported President Duterte back then, right?)

“Anong siyudad ba ang pinakamaraming shabu, pinakamalakas ang [bentahan ng] shabu? ‘Yun ang Iloilo, kaya natural lang yun andun nakatutok ang intelligence agencies d’yan sa malakas na lugar, dahil andyan ang malalaking drug lord. Hindi yun politika,” he added.

(Which city had the most shabu, had the strongest [sales of] shabu? It is Iloilo, which is why it was natural that intelligence agencies would focus on the hottest areas, because that is where the big drug lords are. That’s not politics.)

He suspected that the allegations came from “those who want to perpetuate in power” and discredit the Duterte administration to weaken Vice President Sara Duterte ahead of the 2028 elections.

“Yung mga efforts na yun na part of the serious campaign ng ating Pangulong Duterte sa war on drugs, hindi yung pamulitika. Kung tinamaan sila doon sa war on drugs, very convenient excuse yung politics. Isipin mo, pati si Mar Roxas at Senator Drilon, kasama raw na ididiin…. Anong klaseng pamulitika yan? Natalo na nga sa eleksyon yung tao, ididiiin mo pa sa droga? Hindi kapani-paniwala na mga usapan yan,” he said.

(Those efforts were part of the serious campaign of President Duterte on the war on drugs, not politics. Politics was a very convenient excuse for those who were affected by the war on drugs. Think about it, even Mar Roxas and Senator Drilon would be included? What kind of politics is that? The person already lost the election, and now you would link him to illegal drugs? That’s not a believable rumor.)

He said that the public knew that his life was an open book, and that he never lied.

“Alam naman ng taong bayan kung what’s the real score. So, sana huwag tayo magpapaloko dyan sa mga propaganda na yan dahil eleksyon na naman,” he said.

(The nation knows what's the real score. So, let's not allow ourselves to be fooled by their propaganda now that the elections are coming up.)

Earlier, Mabilog said that he was willing to testify in the investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the Duterte administration's drug war.

“Of course, I am very willing to fly anywhere, Hague or whatever venue in the Philippines, because all that I have to do is tell the truth,” Mabilog said in an interview.

At a congressional hearing, Mabilog said that he was never involved in the illegal drug trade and that he was not a drug protector.

Mabilog, who lived overseas for seven years, surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation and International Airport Investigation Division operatives upon landing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on September 10.

The Lapu-Lapu City Regional Trial Court Branch 73 and Sandiganbayan Third Division issued an arrest warrant against Mabilog for violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The Office of the Ombudsman has also filed graft charges against Mabilog and Councilor Plaridel Nava II before the Sandiganbayan in 2023 over alleged intervention in the awarding of a government contract to a towing services firm where they have an interest in. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News