Davao City First District Rep. Paolo Duterte has denied allegations made by ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio that more than P4.35 billion worth of flood control projects in the city’s First District were irregular or questionable.

In a statement, Duterte said there is nothing to hide in Davao City, asserting that all flood control projects implemented along the Davao and Matina Rivers were implemented properly, inspected, and validated by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Commission on Audit (COA).

He said the structures exist and are serving the public.

“They are not ‘ghosts’ — unlike the kind of politics some people keep reviving every time they need attention,” Duterte said.

“Tinio’s so-called exposé is nothing but a desperate and ignorant attempt to drag Davao into another circus of baseless accusations. You claim to have ‘uncovered’ anomalies — but did you ever question DPWH with your so-called facts? Or did you just piece together numbers to sound relevant again?” Duterte added.

Tinio alleged that the projects, implemented from 2019 to 2022, involved overlapping, double funding, and lack of details, citing information from the Sumbong sa Pangulo website and DPWH submissions.

Duterte said if Tinio believes in accountability, an inspection should also be launched in Luzon where former Governor Chavit Singson exposed earlier the alleged existence of ghost and substandard projects.

“Why are you silent there but loud in Davao, where projects are visible, verified, and functional?” Duterte said.

The Davao City lawmaker also slammed the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), saying it should stop conducting what he described as a “pretend national audit” in Davao City using retired police officers, recycled appointees, and non-engineers to take photos beside completed projects.

“If you want credibility, send real engineers, not political operators,” Duterte said. “Kung gusto mo mangita ug ghost projects, adto sa Luzon ug sa mga rehiyon nga hangtod karon puro papeles ra ang proyekto. Diri sa Davao, naa ang ebidensya — konkreto, lig-on, ug nagamit,” he added.

Duterte challenged Tinio to visit Davao to inspect the flood control projects personally and speak with residents who have benefited from them.

“Until then, stop using Davao as your political punching bag,” Duterte said.

On Wednesday, DPWH Undersecretary Arthur Bisnar and ICI Special Adviser Rodolfo Azurin, Jr., and former ICI Special Adviser, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, inspected the road slope protection structure, including the installation of rockfall netting, at Junction Shrine Hills along the Davao City Diversion Road.

Azurin said Magalong joined the inspection as part of the turnover of projects that were investigated initially under his term.

ICI clarified that it has also received complaints about flood control projects in various parts of the country, including those in Ilocos.

“Ang focus during the past weeks na sinabi nga namin on the flood control. Of course, we cannot also prevent other citizens from submitting ibang projects na they deem na dapat imbestigahan din,” Azurin said.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation-Southeastern Mindanao Regional Office (NBI-SEMRO) said that based on its investigation, there are no ghost projects in Davao City.

“Magkakaroon kami ng matching, the documents from DPWH and documents at hand ng mga contractors. From there, we will conclude our own view, as to whether or not, they really complied with what the law had mandate to them. In general, walang ghost project dito sa Davao City,” NBI-SEMRO Spoksperson, Ely Leano, said.