ILOILO CITY — While former Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog has remained silent on repeated tirades of President Duterte accusing him of being a drug protector, his wife Marivic has lashed out at the President after he again named the former mayor on his latest list of alleged “narco-politicians.”

She said that from 2010 to 2016 her husband and the President were both city mayors.

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“While Iloilo was cited as the third least drug infected city, Davao had one of the worst records in the drug trade and use in the country. If your latest narcolist is truly validated, why don’t you furnish the media the validated list and the sources of your data, properly validated by the reporting agencies? You never brought any drug-related case against Jed because you have nothing on him. Despite having the full control and disposal of intelligence funds and resources, you came up empty against Jed. Nada. Zero. Zilch,” Marivic said in a Facebook post on Friday, hours after the President released the so-called list of 46 alleged narco-politicians.

“You resorted to lies and fabrication which your own agencies have consistently rebutted. You think by continually shaming him and lying about him will do him damage. But Jed’s shield and armor are the truths you refuse to acknowledge. The harder you hit the truth, the more sparkling and stronger it becomes. Leave us alone already,” Marivic said.

The couple and their two children left the country in August 2017 and have not returned amid concerns over their security.

The President has repeatedly and publicly threatened that he would “kill” Mabilog” if the former mayor returned.

The couple has posted photographs of them with their children in an undisclosed location with snow.

The President said on Thursday evening that he was not sure if Mabilog was in the United States or Canada and questioned the US Embassy why Mabilog and his family managed to fly out of the country.

Mabilog left the country to attend international conferences and there was no hold-departure order against him and his family at that time.

The Ombudsman removed Mabilog from office in October 2017 over alleged unexplained wealth but no criminal complaints related to illegal drugs have been filed against him since he was named as a drug protector by the President along with several others in August 2016.

In another post, Marivic also accused the President of using the illegal drugs problem to keep himself in power while other pressing problems remained unaddressed.

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“Duterte is running one of the oldest political scams in the book: create the enemy you need. (Roman general) Crassus used (slave revolt leader) Spartacus. Hitler used the Jews. Duterte is using drugs. He has fabricated a drug menace and used it to keep his iron grip on power, as he did in Davao,” she said.

She cited “more pressing issues” in the country including “lack of potable water, rising prices of commodities, China’s encroachment, illegals from China, corruption in the government, to name a few, and heck, drug use in his own household.”

“Look beyond Jed. Then maybe you can do some real work,” Marivic said.

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