A heated exchange erupted between Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte and ACT Teachers Partylist Representative Antonio Tinio after Tinio requested an independent investigation into alleged flood control anomalies in the city.
Tinio submitted a formal letter to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) on Tuesday, asking the panel to examine ₱4.4 billion in contracts from 2019 to 2022.
In response, Duterte said he is willing to undergo an ICI probe but denied any involvement in awarding public works contracts during the period.
“These projects were carried out by contractors who went through and won the bidding process…these projects were then performed based on the specifications laid down by the DPWH,” he said.
“[I]n short, every peso that was allocated went through the process and spent in accordance with the guidelines laid out by law…documented lahat yan [everything was documented].”
Duterte questioned why only his district was being singled out.
“Kung totoong objective si Tinio, bakit hindi niya sabay-sabay hinahabla ang mga distrito na may bilyon-bilyong flood control anomalies sa buong Pilipinas? Bakit ako lang? Bakit Davao lang?”
Tinio fired back in a separate statement, interpreting Duterte’s remarks as an admission.
“So inaamin niya na kabilang ang distrito niya sa mga distritong may bilyon-bilyong flood control anomalies. ‘Bakit ako lang’ daw. Thank you for your candor.”
The verbal clash highlights rising tensions as investigations into flood control projects across the country continue.