Davao City — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Davao responded to a recent congressional hearing by releasing data on infrastructure spending, clarifying that not all of the funds allocated to the city were for flood control.

The clarification follows a House of Representatives infrastructure committee hearing last Tuesday where Representative Paolo Duterte’s First District was said to have received P51 billion for projects during his father’s final three years as president.

DPWH-XI spokesperson Dean Ortiz said the district received P49.8 billion between 2020 and 2022 for 710 infrastructure projects. He specified that only P8 billion was for flood control projects, while the rest was for major projects like the P15.3- billion Davao Coastal Road, the P2-billion Maa-Magtuod Flyover, and the P2.7-billion Ulas Viaduct.

Ortiz said that from 2016 to 2022, the entire region received P68.6 billion for 1,221 projects, of which P10.5-billion was for flood control.