DAVAO CITY – Davao City First District Rep. Paolo Duterte challenged Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla to present figures supporting his claim that Davao City was the “epicenter” of flood control corruption before the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The lawmaker said in a statement that Remulla should examine the official records from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) before making allegations against Davao City.
Duterte said the DPWH-Davao Region gave him a list of completed projects in the First Congressional District from 2020 to 2022 after he became a congressman in 2019.
He said he was willing to give Remulla a copy of the list if the Ombudsman did not have one.
Duterte also called for an investigation covering the years before he became congressman, when former Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles represented the district.
“If there is an anomaly, investigate it. If there is evidence, release it,” Duterte said, adding that no year, name, party, or administration should be singled out.
Remulla said during House budget deliberations that Davao City could be considered the “epicenter” of flood control corruption before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration.
He said the evidence remains under review as investigators look into alleged irregularities in flood-control projects and the so-called “Davao ecosystem,” where large sums of money allegedly went to the projects.
Duterte said he continues to trust the Ombudsman but urged Remulla to be careful in making public statements while the investigation is ongoing.
He also asked about the status of the investigation into alleged trillion-peso flood-control corruption under the Marcos administration and whether investigators have a complete list of the projects and those involved.
Duterte further questioned the claim that Davao City was the center of flood-control corruption, citing ongoing flooding in several parts of Luzon.
National budget figures from 2017 to the proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) show that the annual flood-control budget more than doubled under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. compared with the Duterte administration.
From 2017 to 2022, the Duterte administration allocated about P612 billion for flood management, averaging P102 billion per year. Under Marcos, the allocation from 2023 to the proposed 2027 budget reached about P1.13 trillion, averaging P227 billion annually.
The flood-control funding increased to about P287 billion in 2023 from P146 billion in 2022. It rose further to P347 billion in 2024 and P373 billion in 2025. The flood control projects however was wracked by controversy after it was discovered that the multi-billion infrastructures were ghost projects.
Reports said the budget dropped sharply in 2026 after Marcos ordered the removal of newly funded and locally funded flood-control projects. The 2026 budget contains about P18 billion for flood management, mainly for maintenance and foreign-funded projects.
The proposed 2027 budget would raise the allocation to about P111 billion. However, this amount could still change as Congress reviews the proposal submitted by the Department of Budget and Management on August 12. (By Ivy Tejano)
