Duterte claims he used to listen in on Parojinog calls

 President Rodrigo Duterte has admitted to listening in the phone calls of slain Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog.

Duterte made the admission in Marawi City on Thursday, where he spoke about Iloilo City Mayor Jed Mabilog being out of the country.

"He's afraid to suffer the same fate with Parojinog. But Parojinog, different. At least there is a semblance of an authority. Either he was a protector, but maybe also part of the gambling syndicate," Duterte said in a media interview, his first in the war-torn city.

"I am not sure of that story. But I'm sure, whenever he was talking to ano, I was listening to him. Don't ask me how I—What kind of listening do I... It was a whisper from God and I was listening to him. So they were all tapped," he added.

The President did not provide any more details.

The Anti-Wiretapping Law or Republic Act 4200 outlaws wiretapping unless authorities have a court order.

Duterte had also linked Parojinog to the pro-ISIS Maute group, along with unnamed drug lords and politicians in Central Mindanao.

Both Parojinog and Mabilog have been on Duterte's list of officials that he said were linked to drugs.

Parojinog, his wife Susan, his brother Provincial Board Member Octavio, and cousin Daryl were among 16 people killed in an alleged shootout during a predawn raid last July 30