NBI visits home of Iloilo City Mayor Mabilog as part of lifestyle check

Government agents on Thursday visited the home of Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog  following President Rodrigo Duterte's order of a lifestyle check on the local official he had linked to the illegal drug trade.

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Western Visayas Regional Director Max Salvador said they visited Mabilog's residence in compliance with Duterte's directive.

Salvador said they no longer had to secure a search warrant from the court because the mayor gave his consent to the visit.

Described by Duterte as "palace-like," Mabilog's white house is located along the Iloilo river and across Esplanade, which is among the city's popular tourist spots.

The construction of the house reportedly came from the earnings of the mayor's wife, Marivic, who is a part owner of an engineering firm in Canada.

They started building the house in 2008 and and this was done one portion at a time.

"My house, while often described as a palace, is not quite a palace. The land or compound on which our circa 1800's ancestral home stands was inherited and the house was built on a more or less 200 sq meter portion," Mabilog said in a statement on Wednesday.

"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," he said.

The mayor has since denied allegations that he is a protector of illegal drug trade as disclosed by Duterte. — RSJ, GMA News