Davao flood control projects not ‘ghosts’ – Pulong

MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte yesterday denied that flood control projects in his district were non-existent or “ghosts,” as claimed by House Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio.

“Davao City has nothing to hide,” Duterte said in response to Tinio’s accusations on Wednesday of irregularities in several flood control projects implemented in the city from 2019 to 2022.

Citing a partial dataset of 121 flood control projects worth P6.06 billion, Tinio and his team of analysts said 80 contracts worth P4.35 billion and implemented in the Davao and Matina rivers showed serious red flags.

Tinio said their findings were based on data sourced from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Duterte said that every flood control project implemented along the Davao and Matina rivers had undergone inspection and validation by the DPWH and the Commission on Audit.

“The projects exist. They are serving the people. They are not ‘ghosts.’ Tinio’s so-called exposé is nothing but a desperate and ignorant attempt to drag Davao into another circus of baseless accusations,” Duterte said.

He challenged Tinio to also inspect Luzon, where he said even former Ilocos Sur governor Luis Singson had cited the existence of “ghost” and substandard projects.

Duterte urged Tinio to visit Davao City to see for himself the supposedly non-existent projects.

Responding to Duterte’s remarks, Tinio said the data exposing red flags in flood control projects in Davao City came from the DPWH itself.

“Congressman Duterte seemed to have missed the point entirely. The data I presented showing 80 of 121 contracts worth P4.35 billion with serious red flags came from the DPWH’s own records, website and official budget documents. We analyzed and cross-checked what the government’s own data revealed,” Tinio said in a statement.

He said that during a recent inspection, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure found anomalies in the city’s flood control projects.