MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday doubled down on her criticism of the Marcos administration's lack of a flood control masterplan, this time claiming that the national government may be refusing to fund flood control projects in Davao City because "the mayor is a Duterte."
In another open letter-type statement posted on Duterte's personal page and shared by the Office of the Vice President, Duterte said that she is using her "position, resources and platform" to "show our government officials how to command."
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This comes after Senate President Chiz Escudero told reporters on Friday that Duterte's comments about the Marcos administration's lack of a master plan for flood infrastructure are "perplexing" given that her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, had "six years to develop one, but was unable to do so."
Escudero said flooding has been a long-time problem that could have already been solved by the previous government.
"The vice president, like every Filipino, has the right to point out the problems confronting our countrymen. Unlike ordinary citizens, however, she can actually suggest or do something tangible about them using her position, resources and platform,” Escudero said.
No funding for Davao's flood projects?
Without naming Escudero, the vice president recalled that during her term as Davao City mayor, she ordered the city's engineer office and the Department of Public Works and Highways to study the flood problem of the city.
This, according to Duterte, led to her father's creation of a flood control master plan.
"Kaya nga mayroon nagawa ang PRRD administration sa flood planning. Nagsimula noong Setyembre 2016 at na-publish noong Hulyo 2023 ang Master Plan and Feasibility Study for Flood Control," she said.
(That's why the PRRD administration was able to accomplish something in flood planning. The Master Plan and Feasibility Study for Flood Control started in September 2016 and was published in July 2023.)
"Baka naman gusto nang pondohan ang mga infrastructure projects na naaayon sa masterplan? O baka naman may alinlangan pa hinggil dito dahil Duterte ang mayor at mas mamarapatin nilang gibain na lang?" Duterte said, referring to her brother, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte.
(Maybe they now want to fund the infrastructure projects aligned with the master plan? Or perhaps there are still doubts about this because the mayor is a Duterte, and they would rather just tear it down?)
A Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) report in 2018 found that the DPWH under former President Rodrigo Duterte went on an "infrastructure frenzy" that trumped that of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
According to then-DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, in just 24 months or from July 2016 to July 2018, the DPWH under Duterte awarded 1,833 projects monthly, or 60 projects daily. The projects included flood-control systems, roads, bridges, schools, water systems, irrigation, power systems and other civil-works projects.
In a 2013 report, the Commission on Audit flagged Davao City for using up just 11% of its P175 million funds for flood control and disaster preparedness projects under the Disbursement Acceleration Program, or DAP. The city mayor during the first half of the year was Sara Duterte before her father replaced her.
DAP, which enabled the use of unprogrammed funds and seen as a replacement to discretionary pork barrel funds of lawmakers, was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2014.