Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte has pushed back against former ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio over criticisms linking the city's recurring flooding incidents to alleged corruption. Duterte accused Tinio of selectively targeting the Duterte family while remaining silent on broader controversies involving the national government.
The exchange came amid renewed scrutiny of flood-control projects in Davao City following severe flooding earlier this week caused by the Intertropical Convergence Zone and easterlies. Heavy rains submerged several barangays, displaced hundreds of residents, and left one person dead. Authorities also confirmed the collapse of the Callawa Bridge in Barangay Callawa as floodwaters swelled across parts of the city.
In a statement, Duterte defended Davao City's infrastructure projects and rejected allegations that funds intended for flood mitigation programs had been misused. He cited Department of Public Works and Highways-Davao records showing that around P49.84 billion worth of infrastructure projects were completed in Davao City from 2020 to 2022.
According to Duterte, the projects included roads, bridges, drainage systems, flood-control structures, and other public works aimed at addressing urban flooding, traffic congestion, and the city's growing infrastructure needs. The congressman also revived claims that Davao City allegedly had not received national government budget allocations for the past four years, arguing that the issue should also be examined amid criticisms directed at the city government.
On May 20, a memorandum from the DPWH surfaced directing district engineers to comply with subpoenas issued by the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with an investigation into flood-control projects in Davao City. The memorandum ordered concerned officials to submit certified copies of documents covering 80 flood-control projects along the Davao and Matina rivers from 2019 to 2022 in relation to House Resolution No. 464. The projects under review form part of the nearly P50 billion worth of infrastructure projects earlier cited by Duterte.
Flooding has long remained a recurring concern in Davao City, particularly in low-lying and riverside communities vulnerable to prolonged rains and overflowing waterways. Urban planners and environmental groups have repeatedly cited rapid urbanization, drainage limitations, river siltation, and watershed degradation as contributing factors to the city's flood problem.
In his statement, Duterte accused Tinio of politicizing the issue instead of pursuing broader investigations into flood-control controversies nationwide. "Flooding is a national problem requiring serious engineering, long-term planning, and cooperation among agencies — not grandstanding before cameras and carrying stacks of folders to create headlines," Duterte said.
The congressman also criticized Tinio for allegedly abandoning education-related issues and instead focusing on attacks against the Duterte family. "It is deeply ironic that Antonio Tinio now wants to parade himself as a crusader against corruption and flooding issues in Davao City, when the entire country is currently witnessing what many are calling the biggest corruption controversy in Philippine history unfolding under the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his son Sandro Marcos, and cousin Martin Romualdez," Duterte said.
Tinio has yet to issue a response to Duterte's latest remarks.
