Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday said his office was investigating infrastructure projects in Davao City, which he described as the “epicenter” of flood control during the previous administration.

Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, however, quickly disputed Remulla’s statement, urging the Ombudsman to check Department of Public Works and Highways records before making what he called serious accusations.

“When I was elected congressman of the 1st District of Davao City in 2019, DPWH XI furnished me a copy of its list of completed projects covering 2020–2022. I have my copy. If you don’t have it, tell me and I’ll send it to you. So that we both have a documented record before making serious accusations,” Duterte said in a Facebook post.

Duterte also called on Remulla to examine all administrations and projects instead of focusing on Davao.

“If there is any anomaly, investigate. If there is any evidence, release it. But don’t make a shortcut out of the political narrative to form a conclusion,” he said.

For his part, Remulla said investigators were having difficulty gathering evidence in Davao due to what he described as a deep “ecosystem” of corruption.

“It’s not easy. Let’s just say the ‘epicenter’ of flood control before the Marcos administration was Davao City. The ecosystem of corruption is heavy, difficult to enter, difficult to gather information. There are many people who refuse to speak, but we do not stop,” Remulla said during a budget briefing at the House of Representatives.

“Davao is the ecosystem we are referring to because it was where a lot of funds went into flood control,” he added.

Remulla said Davao City was not the only place being investigated, saying his office was trying to establish a pattern for how the flood control anomalies began.

His remarks were in response to ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio’s question on whether the Ombudsman was investigating alleged anomalies during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Tinio recalled that concerns over budget insertions and alleged ghost projects had been raised in Congress back in 2018 during the Duterte administration.

Remulla clarified that his characterization of Davao City as the “epicenter” was not a conclusion of corruption as investigators were still gathering evidence.

“We are still studying this because it is important for us to see the evidence on the ground,” he said.