DAVAO City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte accused government officials of orchestrating “ghost projects” and using his family as a scapegoat to hide corruption.
The congressman called for full transparency and accountability on the national budget, particularly on flood control projects.
“We Davaoeños are also taxpayers,” Duterte stated, emphasizing that the national budget includes money from Mindanao and not just Luzon or Metro Manila. “We deserve the truth about these so-called flood control projects that are happening not only in Luzon but in other parts of the country as well.”
He directly challenged those behind the alleged corruption, saying, “If these are truly ghost projects, show them to the public. It’s our money. The money of every Filipino. Don’t flip the story and pin it on our family just to save your own stink.”
Duterte demanded simple answers: “Where is the real project? Where is the service? Or was the money just pocketed?”
The congressman lamented what he called a three-year effort to bring down his family, which he said has traumatized his children and led to the “kidnapping” of his ailing father to a foreign court. Despite these challenges, he maintained that his family’s actions are for the good of the country.
He challenged all officials to “show all the budget, release all the projects,” and not just to hide them on paper. “Show us in the district if there’s a real road, a bridge, a canal, a hospital, or if they were just drawings,” he said.
His statement came as local news outlets, including TIMES, obtained a report from the DPWH City Engineering Office showing that the actual budget for Davao City’s flood control and other infrastructure projects from 2020 to 2022 was over ₱49 billion, not the previously cited ₱51 billion.
The report also indicated that the DPWH implemented the projects and held the budget allocation.
Photo courtesy of Rhoda Grace B Saron
