Paolo Duterte responds to Antonio Tinio: 'Pumunta ka dito sa Davao'
At A Glance
- Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte has told ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio to go to Davao and see for himself whether or not his allegations of P4.35 billion worth of questionable flood control projects can hold water.
Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte (left), ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio (Facebook)
Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte has told ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio to go to Davao and see for himself whether or not his allegations of P4.35 billion worth of questionable flood control projects can hold water.
"Let me make this clear — Davao City has nothing to hide," Rep. Duterte said in a statement on Wednesday night, Nov. 5.
"Every single flood-control project along the Davao and Matina Rivers was implemented, inspected, and validated by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Commission on Audit (COA). The structures exist. They are serving the people," he said.
"They are not 'ghosts' — unlike the kind of politics some people keep reviving every time they need attention," said the Davao lawmaker.
Earlier Wednesday, Tinio held a press conference and said that he had "red-flagged" at least 80 projects worth P4.35 billion in Davao City, the home turf of the Dutertes.
While Tinio didn't categorically say in the presser that there were ghost projects among these, he strongly suggested that there were such anomalies.
"So here’s my advice to Tinio: come to Davao, walk the riverbanks, see the projects, and talk to the people whose homes no longer flood because of those structures. Then maybe you’ll realize the only thing missing in your so-called investigation is the truth," said Rep. Duterte, son of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Rep. Duterte called the Makabayan solon's exposé "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?" he asked Tinio.
"If you truly believe in accountability, start where it actually matters. Why not inspect Luzon where even former Governor Chavit Singson himself admitted there are ghost and substandard projects? Why are you silent there but loud in Davao, where projects are visible, verified, and functional?" Rep. Duterte said.
"Until then, stop using Davao as your political punching bag," he further told Tinio.
Tinio said he planned to file a House resolution to formally call for an investigation on the questionable Davao City projects.