Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte expressed support for the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) plan to issue subpoenas to contractors involved in questioned flood mitigation infrastructure within his district.
Responding to remarks from NBI Director Melvin Matibag regarding the Davao City probe, the lawmaker expressed hope for transparent proceedings and called on the bureau to present concrete evidence regarding the alleged irregularities.
“We welcome Melvin Matibag’s statement on the flood control projects in Davao City’s First District. Finally, I hope may media coverage sa hearing nyo para makita ng buong bayan kung ano yang nakita mong substandard at ghost project,” said Duterte in a statement.
“Taga Dabaw kami. May malasakit kami sa lungsod namin. Kaya gusto naming makita ang ebidensya, documents, videos, at mismong projects na sinasabing may problema,” he added.
However, the lawmaker urged the NBI to apply equal investigative standards across all jurisdictions.
He specifically questioned the status of infrastructure projects in Laguna’s 1st District, represented by the NBI director’s wife, Representative Ann Matibag.
“Pero sana lang kung seryoso tayo sa imbestigasyon, dapat pare-pareho ang standards sa lahat ng lugar. Kasi taga-Davao kami, may malasakit kami sa lungsod namin, di gaya ng iba diyan,” the solon said.
“Kaya ang tanong, Congresswoman Matibag, kumusta naman ang mga alegasyon at ebidensya tungkol sa mga proyekto sa inyong distrito? May videos at documents din ba?” Duterte added.
Duterte further tied the Discaya contractors to two flood control initiatives allegedly situated in Representative Matibag’s district, noting that his office holds documentation on the matter.
“Ipasubpoena rin ba ang mga contractor na Discaya sa dalawang project na sila rin ang contractor? Kasi may hawak kami na videos sa projects sa distrito ni Ann Matibag at ng mga Discaya,” the Davao solon said.
“Kung may ghost o substandard projects, imbestigahan lahat—Davao man o saan mang bahagi ng bansa. Walang selective investigation. Ebidensya ang dapat magsalita. Kaya welcome na welcome sa amin yang Matibag investigation na yan…” he added.
Concluding his statement, Duterte called for full public transparency and broadcast coverage throughout the bureau’s inquiries.
“Again, Daghang Salamat NBI! Sa wakas maisa isa na gyud ninyo ug pakita sa mga tao na inyong giimbestigahan ang projects diri. Ug unta lang please make it public with live videos. Dili ng puro storya na lang mugawas sa mga tao,” the solon added.