DAVAO CITY REP. PAOLO DUTERTE| PHOTO FROM HIS FACEBOOK PAGE
Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte on Thursday has declined the Independent Commission for Infrastructure’s (ICI) request for him to appear in its probe on alleged irregularities in flood-control projects in his district.
In a letter to ICI chair Andres Reyes Jr., Duterte said the body “appears without power nor jurisdiction” over members of Congress.
He argued that the ICI, created under Executive Order No. 94, is part of the Executive branch and cannot summon a sitting legislator under the doctrine of separation of powers.
Duterte also described the invitation as “vague and ambiguous,” saying it lacked any factual or legal basis to warrant his attendance.
He stressed that agencies under the Executive, including the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) already have full access to project documents without “looking to Congress.”
The lawmaker added that he was not a member of the House appropriations committee from 2019 to 2022, the period tagged in alleged anomalies, and is therefore “incompetent to answer” the commission’s questions.
In the second page of his letter, Duterte claimed the ICI should instead investigate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his family and former speaker Martin Romualdez based on statements made by resigned Ako-Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co.
He called the allegations against the Marcos camp “shocking,” saying they cannot be ignored by investigators.
Duterte accused the Marcos administration of using the ICI as a political weapon to divert attention from its own controversies by targeting him and Vice President Sara Duterte.
He concluded by calling the ICI “a tool for pure political propaganda,” saying the moves against his family were meant to undermine them ahead of the 2028 elections, while the commission has yet to respond to his refusal.