DAVAO CITY – First District Representative Paolo "Pulong" Duterte has made a striking declaration, asserting that his congressional district has not received any allocation from the national government's budget since the year 2022.
"We Will Not Go Hungry" – Duterte's Defiant Stance
During a live interview from The Hague, Netherlands on January 13, 2026, the lawmaker stood by his previous statements. "Back in 2022, I did not have a budget and I had nothing to do with it. As I have said, we Dabawenyos will not go hungry even if we are not supported by the national government," Duterte stated firmly.
He emphasized the resilience of his constituents, suggesting that the district would survive without national support. In a serious allegation, Duterte claimed he was once offered a staggering P5 billion on the condition that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. would receive P40 million in cash. He further accused opposition lawmakers of complicating matters by "twisting the facts" and expecting compliance with their directives.
The Data on Allocables: Duterte's Zero vs. Allies' Trillions
A report from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) sheds light on the budgetary allocations. According to the 2025 General Appropriations Act, Representative Duterte and his allied lawmakers—Isidro Ungab, Pantaleon Alvarez, and Khymer Olaso—had zero "allocables."
In stark contrast, the report highlights that Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander "Sandro" Marcos and Leyte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez secured the largest budget allocations from 2023 to 2025, amounting to a combined P1.2 trillion.
Former DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral explained that allocables represent the "ceiling budget" for engineering offices, calculated using a parametric formula. Current DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo confirmed last November that lawmakers' allocations for DPWH projects are incorporated into the National Expenditure Program.
President Marcos signed the P6.793 trillion 2026 national budget on January 5. Senator Loren Legarda previously noted that P400 billion in allocables has been provided annually for the past three years, with P100 billion earmarked in the 2026 DPWH budget.
History of Budget Issues and the P51-Billion Davao Inquiry
This is not the first time Duterte has raised concerns about funding. In January 2024, he claimed that approximately P2 billion was diverted from the National Expenditure Program intended for Davao City's first district, leaving only P500 million for local projects. He linked this cut to his opposition to a people's initiative for charter change, though he stressed it did not affect him personally.
Simultaneously, Duterte is involved in a House inquiry investigating a P51-billion infrastructure program in Davao City. He has stated the city has "nothing to hide" and has invited investigators to review all records and inspect completed projects.
This inquiry originated from a House Infrastructure Committee hearing on questionable flood-control projects nationwide. DPWH Undersecretary Cabral confirmed that the P51 billion worth of projects were allocated to Davao City's first district during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte from 2020 to 2022.
Despite the ongoing budgetary challenges and political scrutiny, Representative Paolo Duterte maintains that he is "okay," extending the same sentiment of resilience to fellow Bisaya people across the nation.
