DAVAO CITY, Philippines – A youth leader challenged Davao’s first district representative Paolo Duterte to disclose his assets, liabilities and net worth to prove his claim he did not profit from the district’s ?51.8 billion infrastructure project.
Kabataan Party-list Southern Mindanao chairperson Cobbie Canda issued this challenge to the solon, who is reported to be subject to the House ‘infracomm’ probe into anomalies in flood control projects across the nation.
Duterte was given ?51.8 billion from 2020-2022 in infrastructure projects at the time his father, Rodrigo Duterte, was president.
House leaders such as Zaldy Co said this allocation was the biggest in the Philippine Congress’ history for a single district. It nearlymatched the whole National Capital Region’s infrastructure budget from 2022-2025 worth ?52.7 billion.
Duterte defended the allocation and challenged his colleagues to reveal their infrastructure projects.
“Let me say this straight, Davao has nothing to hide. If you want to see the ghost projects under that ?51.8 billion, just go ahead and investigate it. Show them all the records, there on the ground. The truth is there, the projects that have been implemented,” he said in a statement.
But Kabataan’s Canda said Duterte must back his talk with transparency, such as revealing his bank accounts and assets.
“Talk is cheap. If Rep. Paolo ‘Pulong’ Duterte is as clean as he insists he is, he should publicize all of his Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs),” Canda said.
“He can take it even further, he should sign waivers off bank secrecy. Pulong can even encourage his siblings to follow suit. Only then can they prove that public funds were not misused for personal or political gain,” the youth leader added.
The Dutertes, including Vice President Sara and former President Rodrigo, have not released their SALN’s despite requests from the media.
Canda said Davao City is not exempted from scrutiny over flood control projects, as Duterte defenders claimed this is another ploy from the Marcoses to pin down the Davao dynasty.
“Davao City cannot be exempted from accountability. These billions did not come from the Dutertes’ pockets but from the people’s coffers. While contractors and politicians enriched themselves, ordinary Dabawenyos continued to suffer the same floods year after year. The Duterte family are public officials, and they shall answer to the people. Until full transparency and accountability are achieved, the questions will remain—and so will the anger of the people whose trust was betrayed.”
Congressman Duterte’s huge allocation came under scrutiny during last week’s infracomm probe.
Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary for Planning Maria Catalina Cabral confirmed at the hearing that Davao’s first district was given ?51.8 billion.
In 2020, the administration proposed ?4.6 billion for the first district’s flood control, but the final allocation was raised to ?13.7 billion.
Then in 2021, the district’s proposed ?9.67 billion budget ballooned to ?25 billion.(davaotoday.com)
