Ombudsman indicts Iloilo City Mayor Mabilog for graft over anomalous towing services

Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog is facing a graft complaint before the Sandiganbayan for entering into an anomalous towing services agreement with a private company he allegedly owned in 2015, the Office of the Ombudsman said.

Based on the information of the case, the city council passed a resolution in April 2014 ordering the use of wheel towing clamps in its towing ordinance.

The council then approved a resolution on February 17, 2015 allowing Mabilog to enter into a memorandum of agreement with 3L Towing Services. The MOA states that 70 percent of the revenue will go to the company while 30 percent would be the local government's share.

Mabilog, however, suspended the MOA due to "some technical issues" on February 27.

Three months later, 3L proprietor Leny Garcia then wrote the local chief executive informing him that the MOA was being withdrawn “amidst the legal issues confronting it."

Councilor Plaridel Nava II, a co-accused in the case, accused Mabilog of owning the towing company and claimed he had financial interests in the MOA.

“Mabilog allegedly employed his services to perpetuate and consummate his illegitimate, immoral, dishonest and underground acts and transactions with private groups and corporate personalities doing or intending to do business in the city of Iloilo by using his power and influence as the chief executive of the city government,” Nava said in the Ombudsman resolution.

Futhermore, Nava said Mabilog ordered him to look for a dummy owner and estimate the costs of a towing company involved in clamping services.

Graft investigators found that Mabilog handed P500,000 to Nava as part of his capital contribution to 3L. Mabilog also allegedly expedited the processing of the company's business and mayor's permits.

Mabilog, in his counter-affidavit, claimed that it was Nava who had financial interests in 3L. “It is Nava who has pecuniary interest in 3L because it was the latter who told him about it and its intention of bidding for the towing project even defending the qualifications of 3L," he said.

Nonetheless, the Ombudsman said both Mabilog and Nava are liable for the offense since they both colluded in the creation of 3L.

"One thing is clear from their accusations and counter-accusations—both colluded to create 3L, to get Garcia to act as its dummy owner, to have the business registered with the DTI and BIR, to secure its business and mayor’s permits, and to have it awarded the MOA with the city government without going through a competitive process,” the resolution said.

“On the part of Nava, as revealed by Mabilog, the former’s intervention was made manifest when he sponsored the wheel clamping ordinance as a supplement to the towing ordinance. Nava also sponsored the amendments to the towing ordinance allowing a private party to enter into a MOA with the city government for a term of five years without mentioning as to how the entity should be chosen," it added.

Mabilog was earlier tagged by President Rodrigo Duterte as one of the country's narco politicians. 

Duterte also ordered a lifestyle check on Mabilog citing his "palace-like" mansion and scored the local chief executive for supposedly offering a P1 million bounty for the arrest of alleged drug lord Richard Prevendido. 

Mabilog has repeatedly denied his alleged drug links. —KG/KVD, GMA News