Davao City First District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte on Friday called for equal scrutiny of alleged killings linked to the Duterte administration’s drug war and alleged irregularities in multibillion-peso flood-control projects, saying investigations should follow all leads regardless of political considerations.
Duterte said there was no objection to investigating alleged drug-war killings, stressing that victims should be heard and those responsible for crimes should be held accountable.
“Truth is truth. Hindi puwedeng pili lang ang gustong hanapan ng katotohanan. Kung taxpayer-funded ang Truth Commission, then taxpayers deserve the whole truth, not just the convenient parts,” he said.
He said cases involving alleged killings should be investigated when there are victims and allegations of wrongdoing that need to be addressed.
“Walang problema sa pagdinig sa mga kaso ng alleged killings. Kung may biktima, dapat marinig. Kung may krimen, dapat managot ang responsable. Finding the truth is laudable because truth is what sets people free,” Duterte said.
At the same time, he questioned what he described as the lack of similar urgency in investigating the flood-control controversy, particularly allegations involving billions of pesos in public funds.
“Pero habang abala ang lahat sa paghahanap ng katotohanan tungkol sa drug war, nasaan ang parehong urgency sa flood-control corruption?” he said.
Duterte also questioned the focus of the Marcos administration’s flood-control investigation, claiming that greater attention was being given to projects in Davao City while contractors with billions of pesos worth of projects in other areas, including Leyte and Ilocos, should also be scrutinized.
“As of today, the Bangag government is more focused on investigating Davao flood-control projects kesa dun sa lugar ng mga contractors na may bilyon-bilyong proyekto tulad ng Leyte at Ilocos,” he said.
He said a comprehensive investigation should not stop at identifying officials who signed project documents but should also trace where public funds went, who benefited from questionable transactions, and who may have authorized or protected them.
“Kung Truth Commission tayo, bakit parang may truth na naka-fast track at may truth na naka-pending? Bilyun-bilyong pera ng taxpayers ang pinag-uusapan. Projects na dapat proteksyon sa baha ang pinagdududahan. At ang dapat nating hanapin ay hindi lang kung sino ang pumirma sa papeles, kundi saan napunta ang pera, sino ang nakinabang, sino ang nag-utos, at sino ang nagprotekta,” he said.
Duterte emphasized that his position was not to oppose an investigation into the drug war but to call for investigations into all allegations of wrongdoing.
“Hindi ko sinasabing huwag imbestigahan ang drug war. Imbestigahan lahat. Pero kung ang objective ay truth, then follow every trail, not just the trail that is politically convenient,” he said.
The flood-control controversy has prompted investigations by government agencies and legislative bodies amid allegations of irregularities involving infrastructure projects intended to protect communities from flooding.
Duterte said the public has reason to question the consistency of investigations when one issue receives greater attention than another involving billions of pesos in taxpayers’ money.
“Because kung ang isang Truth Commission ay sobrang sipag maghanap ng katotohanan sa isang isyu pero tila mas tahimik sa isang corruption scandal involving billions of taxpayers’ money, natural lang na magtanong ang publiko,” he said.
He said the focus should ultimately be on establishing the full facts rather than selectively pursuing investigations based on political considerations.
“Hindi naman kami takot sa katotohanan. Ang tanong, sino ang takot kapag buong truth na ang hinahanap?” Duterte added.
