DAVAO CITY – Davao City first district Rep. Paolo Duterte slammed what he described as selective investigations into government flood-control projects, accusing national agencies of using probes as mere publicity stunts.

“If the government and independent agencies are truly serious about cleaning up flood-control projects, they should stop using investigations as props for publicity,” Duterte said.

The lawmaker noted that in Davao City, investigators have examined documents, projects, and audits “down to the last nail,” but found no evidence of ghost or substandard projects.

“You only exhausted yourselves to grandstand,” he said, questioning why the same level of scrutiny is not being applied to other large districts in the country.

“When it comes to other big districts, suddenly there’s selective amnesia. What is that, are you allergic when the surname is powerful?” the lawmaker added.

Duterte called out the National Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Ombudsman, and National Economic and Development Authority, saying their enthusiasm for probes seemed confined to Davao City.

“In other places, suddenly there’s no budget for fares and hotels? If you are truly anti-corruption, find a way. You have planes, you have a budget, you have a mandate — use them,” Duterte said.

He warned agencies not to use Davao City as a “prop to showcase courage” while sparing other regions. He stressed that anti-corruption drives should be applied nationwide, “including areas that are difficult to touch.”

Duterte criticized projects under Zamboanga City Rep. and House Majority Leader Jose “Mannix” Dalipe and hinted at possible irregularities.

“You are already in Mindanao, why not also look into the projects of Cong. Dalipe, which I am sure is as polished as the expansion of his stomach,” Duterte said.

Duterte said that his Ilocano friends contacted him and informed him that their congressman was “rushing” to fix allegedly defective infrastructure projects in their districts.

He further demanded transparency from northern lawmakers. “My Ilocano friends, please show us receipts — we’re taxpayers here in Davao too,” he said.

Duterte capped his remarks with a satirical verse aimed at ghost projects: “Building is no joke. On projects left idle for three years, they could not rise, because of the crocodile in power.”

The lawmaker stressed that accountability and transparency should be enforced across all government projects, not only in select districts.