Paolo Duterte blasts House probe, defends P51-B Davao flood projects

Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte on Wednesday slammed the ongoing House investigation into the anomalous flood control projects after a Department of Public Works and Highways official confirmed that he received P51 billion worth of infrastructure projects during the last three years of his father, Rodrigo Duterte’s, as president. 

The lawmaker’s frustration stemmed from DPWH Undersecretary for Planning Maria Catalina Cabral’s admission that his district in Davao was given P51 billion from 2020 to 2022 to bankroll infrastructure projects.

Cabral made the confirmation during the House infrastructure committee on Tuesday, after chairpersons Terry Ridon and Joel Chua pressed her to validate a 2024 report, when she was quoted as saying that the budgetary allocations for Duterte’s district for the years 2020 to 2022 formed part of DPWH’s budget, which was documented in the National Expenditure Program and General Appropriations Act (GAA). 

Rep. Duterte snapped back at his colleagues, accusing them of weaponizing the inquiry to divert the issue of systematic corruption in the flood control and using their family as a scapegoat. He added that the panel should refrain from politicizing the probe but rather focus on facts and evidence.

“Don’t twist the story and pin the blame on our family just to hide your own dirt,” the lawmaker asserted. "If the infra comm is indeed doing an investigation, do it correctly and fairly…But if it is another effort to ruin our family, file the cases and spare the taxpayers money from this circus.” 

The report in question showed that for 2020, the administration of then-president Duterte initially proposed P4.67  billion in flood control projects in Rep. Duterte’s district. However, the budget swelled to P13.74 billion in the 2020 GAA. This reoccurred in the 2021 GAA when the allocation ballooned to P25.03 billion from the proposed P9.67 billion. 

In the 2022 GAA, the last budget prepared by the Duterte administration, Rep. Duterte’s district was reportedly allocated P13.04 billion worth of infrastructure projects, including flood control, despite the original proposal being only P10 billion. 

This, despite then-appropriations panel chair, Ako-Bicol Elizaldy Co, said that districts are typically allocated P500 million to P2 billion annually. The years 2020 to 2022 were Rep. Duterte’s first term as a lawmaker. 

These years also overlapped with the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the country was grappling with the severe economic fallout..

Chua questioned the need for such a hefty allocation in Duterte’s district in Davao alone, pointing out that the funds could have been used to procure much-needed medical supplies during the pandemic and help prevent the country from plunging deeper into debt. 

Refuting claims of influence-peddling, Rep. Duterte claimed that he had never interfered in budget talks in the House, even in the past Congresses. 

Furthermore, the lawmaker maintained that his district has nothing to hide, contending that his projects in Davao “are built on solid ground.”

"Kung gusto n’yo talagang maghanap ng ghost projects under that P51B, sige lang, investigate it all. Ipakita ang records, tingnan ang aktwal. Nandoon ang katotohanan — mga proyektong nakikita, naitayo, at nagagamit ng mga tao sa Davao."