Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Wednesday welcomed and swore in former Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog as the department’s undersecretary for public safety.

Remulla said Mabilog’s experience in local governance would contribute to the department’s reform efforts.

“His experience in local government will be a valuable asset in the department. Furthermore, the injustice he went through will fuel his desire to level the playing field in local governance. Not revenge but reform,” Remulla said.

Mabilog previously served as mayor of Iloilo City before he was dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2017.

He was also publicly linked by former president Rodrigo Duterte to the administration’s controversial narco list during the height of the anti-drug campaign.