DAVAO CITY, Philippines – First District Congressman Paolo Duterte’s decision to skip the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) drew criticisms from fellow House members over lingering questions on how his office spent its flood control projects.
Duterte was invited by the ICI to appear before them last December 4, but he responded with a statement saying the investigative body is “powerless” over members of Congress.
“I don’t run from real investigations. I only refuse to be part of a scripted circus pretending to be one,” the congressman said in his Facebook page last December 5.
The Davao solon is being questioned for receiving the biggest allocation for a single district in the history of Philippine Congress, much higher than the maximum P6-billion allocation that a district is being allocated per year. The huge insertions happened from 2020-2022 during his father’s presidency.
The congressman had earlier said the records of the projects in his district are open for inspection and available for the ICI to check.
“The records are readily available, and the projects are there ready to be inspected. The ICI can simply obtain such records and compare them to the projects implemented,” Duterte said.
In reaction to Duterte’s statement, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said the congressman may be correct in saying the ICI does not compel members of Congress to attend their hearings, but he forfeits his opportunity to clear questions on the P51-billion infrastructure budget he received during his first term.
“Congressman Duterte can basically decline as a matter of right. No one can actually compel members of Congress to attend before the ICI,” Ridon said. “But it needs to be cleared as well that he has been given the opportunity to appear before the ICI and a future referral to the Office of the Ombudsman involving matters concerning his district or his projects, particularly those within the period concerning the P52 billion insertions into Davao City, I think he will have waived his right to respond to the ICI on the matter.”
The ICI was created by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to investigate anomalies in public works including flood control projects which has drawn public condemnation as heavy floods struck various parts of the country this year despite billions being spent in the past ten years.
House members and the ICI have looked into the flood projects of Congressman Duterte, especially after Dabawenyos complained and exposed incidents of flooding in some parts of the first and second district.
House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio criticized Duterte for hiding behind a wrong sense of privilege.
“Malakas ang loob niyang pumustura na walang anomalya sa kanyang distrito pero ngayong inanyayahan siya sa aktwal na imbestigasyon, nagtatago siya sa wala sa lugar na pribilehiyo bilang kongresista (He strongly claims there are no anomalies in his district but when he is called to an actual investigation, he hides behind a wrong sense of congressional privilege),” Tinio said.
The party-list leader presented a list of Duterte’s flood control projects they had reviewed, and noted 80 projects amounting to P4.35 billion as questionable as redundant funding, change in location of projects, gross overpricing and contracts without clear specifications. Tinio said these anomalies comprise two-thirds of Duterte’s 121 flood control projects. https://davaotoday.com/headline/tinio-flags-80-flood-control-projects-of-pulong-duterte/
Duterte responded to Tinio challenging him to visit Davao City to see the flood control projects in his district. But Tinio proposed that the House could conduct its own probe over these anomalies.(davaotoday.com)
