National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag says he cannot understand why Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte has spoken out against the agency’s review of flood control spending in the congressman’s district, given that the people facing scrutiny are contractors rather than the lawmaker himself.
Pressed by reporters on Friday along the sidelines of House plenary talks on the bureau’s proposed 2027 budget, the director acknowledged the congressman’s right to speak while making clear the intervention had thrown him. “First of all, he is entitled to his opinion. That’s his privilege especially since he’s a personality,” Matibag said. What followed puzzled him: “But it surprised me for him to make such comments, considering he is not the one being investigated and subpoenaed.” He identified who the agency is actually pursuing — “What we are calling are the contractors and the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) officials” — before turning the matter back on Duterte: “So it’s puzzling. Maybe he should be the one to answer why he gave such a reaction.”
The director pushed back on the suggestion that the works themselves, not those who hold office, drive the inquiry. “And, first of all, it is not the congressmen who are being investigated, but the projects,” he said. Accountability, he explained, runs through the implementing agency and the firms it hires: “We know that these are projects implemented by the DPWH, and in doing so, they are talking with contractors.” Only a clear link would change that, he added: “So, until there’s evidence or proof that lawmakers or any politician is involved there, that’s the only time that they will call upon them.”
Matibag extended a direct challenge to the congressman to route any allegations through legal channels rather than public statements. “If he has any evidence or whatever, as a citizen, as a member of the House of Representatives, he is free to file a case so that we can investigate it properly,” he said. On the video Duterte had cited, the director urged caution about its origins, noting the clip he saw came from a pro-Duterte vlogger: “Well, we have to identify where the video came from because I saw the post, it’s a vlogger who posted it. We have to validate the evidence.”
Because Duterte’s remarks reached into Laguna’s first district — represented by the director’s wife, Laguna Rep. Ann Matibag — the NBI chief said he would remove himself from any review touching her constituency without hesitation, framing the step as central to the integrity of the work. “Of course, if there is a conflict of interest. We will do that immediately, because that is the important thing about accountability and integrity of investigations,” he said.
The exchange followed a series of statements in which Duterte demanded open hearings on the Davao works while questioning why contractor spouses Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya had not drawn the same treatment over projects he tied to Rep. Matibag’s district. “I hope there’s media coverage on your hearings so that the entire nation will see what projects you considered as ghost and substandard,” the congressman said, casting his stance as loyalty to his home city: “We are from Davao. We love our city. That’s why we want to see the evidence, documents, videos and the projects which allegedly has problems.” He pressed for uniform treatment — “But we just hope that if we are serious in the investigation, there should be similar standards for all areas […]” — and put a pointed question to the director’s spouse: “That’s why the question is: Congresswoman Matibag, how about the allegations and evidence within your district? Are there videos and documents also?”
Countering any impression of a Davao-centered effort, Matibag pointed to parallel reviews in Cebu, Bulacan, and Pampanga, some of them in areas run by allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “I have said that already. No records within the NBI will show that our investigations are focused in Davao. There are also districts headed by the president’s party-mates,” he said.
The Davao review sits within that wider effort. On Thursday, the director reported that 47 of 100 flood control contracts in Duterte’s district had been flagged, valued at P1.9 billion, with all of them going to Genesis88 Construction, Inc. — a firm he described as close to the Dutertes — though he clarified that only about six carried clear defects. Serving of subpoenas was set to begin Friday, reaching 51 people connected to Genesis88, Gemma Construction, Agong Construction, the DPWH, and the Commission on Audit.
