Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte has fired back at Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla over his description of Davao City as the “epicenter” of flood control corruption during the Duterte administration, challenging the Ombudsman to let the records—not political sound bites—speak for themselves.

Duterte said Remulla should first examine the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) records before making sweeping conclusions about Davao. He said DPWH Region XI furnished him a copy of its list of completed projects covering 2020 to 2022, when he was already serving as congressman.

“Kung wala kayo, sabihin ninyo at padadalhan ko kayo,” Duterte said, adding that it would be better for everyone to be looking at the same official documents before making serious accusations.

But Duterte said there is another important question that needs to be answered, why stop there? He pointed out that he only assumed office as congressman in 2019 and that the district was previously represented by Karlo Nograles.

“So kung iimbestigahan ninyo ang Davao, hindi lang during my term, please,” Duterte said.

“Long before I became congressman, Nograles po ang congressman sa aming distrito.”

For Duterte, a genuine investigation should not have a convenient starting point.

“If seryoso tayo sa paghahanap ng katotohanan, walang dapat piliing taon, pangalan, partido, o administrasyon,” he said.

“If may anomalya, imbestigahan. If may ebidensya, ilabas.”

Duterte warned that prematurely branding Davao as the “epicenter” risks turning an investigation into a political narrative before the evidence has even been fully examined.

“Ang Ombudsman ay dapat naghahanap ng katotohanan—not convenient villains,” he said.

He also appealed to Remulla to be more circumspect in his public statements, saying the investigation is still ongoing and that careless pronouncements could damage the credibility of the institution itself.

“Malaki pa rin ang tiwala ko sa Ombudsman bilang bantay ng kaban ng bayan,” Duterte said.

“Hindi lang naman kayo ang Ombudsman.”

He said he continues to believe that many officials and employees of the institution possess the integrity and conscience to perform their mandate properly.

“Naniniwala akong marami pa ring opisyal at empleyado diyan na may malasakit, integridad, at konsensya para sa bayan,” he said.

Duterte then turned the spotlight back on the much larger flood control investigation, asking what has happened to allegations involving projects worth trillions of pesos from 2023 onward.

“May listahan din ba sila ng mga nakumpletong infrastructure projects tulad ng sa Davao City 1st District?” he asked.

And if Davao is being singled out because of its flood control projects, Duterte suggested that the country’s continuing flooding should also prompt a broader examination of where flood control money went and whether projects actually delivered the protection they were supposed to provide.

“Speaking of baha,” Duterte said, “parang ilang linggo na yata ang baha sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng Luzon na hindi pa rin humuhupa.”

For Duterte, the issue is not whether Davao should be investigated. It should be—if there is evidence.

The issue is whether the same standard will be applied everywhere.

His challenge to the Ombudsman is simple—open the books, check every year, examine every project, identify every responsible person—and let the evidence decide.

“Lahat ng taon. Lahat ng proyekto. Lahat ng pangalan. Walang pili. Walang exempted,” Duterte said.