Story updated to include statements of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 27) — The Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal of a mayor that President Rodrigo Duterte accuses of being part of the illegal drug trade.

Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Carandang approved on October 6 the decision to dismiss of Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog for serious dishonesty.

The decision, made by Ombudsman Prosecution Officer Rachel Cariaga-Favila, was issued on August 29. However, a copy of the decision was made available only on Thursday.

Cariaga-Favila said Mabilog failed to prove that the ₱8.98-million increase in his net worth from 2012 to 2013, as shown by his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), was not questionable.

She said the evidence that Mabilog used to justify the increase — his business earnings and his wife’s tax returns from 2007 to 2012 as a comptroller in Canada — was insufficient.

“Respondent failed to present proof of his wife’s lawful source of income from her employment in Canada for 2013,” she said. “Moreover, it is also significant to note that respondent also failed to present proof of income from the business interests disclosed in his SALNs.”

“Simply, his failure to properly account or explain his sources of income establishes presence of malicious intent to conceal the truth, causing grave prejudice to the government in the amount of ₱8,981,082.52,” Cariaga-Favila added.

Mabilog, who has been targeted by Duterte for being a so-called “narcopolitician” and for supposedly having a lavish lifestyle, has been on leave since September 2017.

Read: Duterte orders lifestyle check on Iloilo City mayor

Mabilog, who has been targeted by Duterte for being a so-called “narcopolitician,” has been on leave since September 2017.

On Wednesday, Duterte said Mabilog would be targeted next, after admitting for the first time he ordered the operation against Reynaldo Parojinog Sr., the mayor of Ozamiz City. The July 30 raid killed the mayor and 14 others.

Speaking at an event in Davao City on Friday, Duterte, said Mabilog’s dismissal had been long overdue.

“Kita mo si Mabilog. Mabilog is, I think a cousin of (Senator Frank) Drilon. Wala na. The Ombudsman, in a very, very late gesture, para kunwari na sinuportahan nila ako, fired, stripped him of his mayorship,” Duterte said.

[Translation: Look at Mabilog. Mabilog is, I think a cousin of (Senator Frank Drilon). He’s gone. The Ombudsman, in a very, very late gesture — so it would look like they support me — fired him of his mayorship.]

Duterte has repeatedly called Iloilo the country’s most “shabulized” province, warning Mabilog in August 2017 to cut off all his alleged drug connections.

Read: Duterte warns Iloilo City mayor included in narco-list

Mabilog has repeatedly denied the accusations, saying that he supports the President’s bloody war on drugs and that he did not enrich himself in politics.

Meanwhile, Duterte has been at odds with Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales. He has called for her impeachment along with accusing her of practicing selective justice.

Read: Impeachment proceedings vs. Sereno, Morales underway