TWO House leaders drew sharp parallels between former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, accusing them of operating under a “Davao model” in handling confidential government funds and alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) associated with the previous administration’s war on drugs.
In a press conference, House Assistant Majority Leader Jay Khonghun and Committee on Public Order and Safety Chair Dan Fernandez noted what they described as a consistent pattern of an alleged unaccountable behavior from the Duterte father-and-daughter duo.
“Kung may Davao model sa EJK, may Davao model din sa pagastos ng confidential fund,” Khonghun remarked, noting that Davao City had the largest confidential fund of any city in the country under Sara Duterte’s leadership.
He claimed this model now influences how the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) manage their budgets.
“Nakikita natin ‘yung pattern ng mag-ama, nakikita natin ‘yung pattern na kanilang ginagawa patungkol sa [EJKs] at kung paano nila ginagastos ‘yung confidential fund,” the Zambales representative said.
“Kung paano nila ginastos ‘yung confidential fund ng DepEd at [OVP], binabase rin nila sa Davao model,” he added.
The House Blue Ribbon Committee, formally known as the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, recently uncovered Vice President Duterte’s extensive use of hundreds of millions in confidential funds during her tenure as Davao City mayor and how this pattern has continued at the OVP, despite it lacking a mandate to manage such funds.
Records show that Davao City’s confidential funds steadily increased from P144 million in 2016 to P460 million annually from 2019 to 2022, during Vice President Duterte’s tenure as mayor.
During hearings by the House Quad Comm, multiple witnesses confirmed that the reward system in Duterte’s nationwide anti-drug campaign followed a “Davao model,” where police officers received cash rewards for each drug suspect killed.
Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager and retired police colonel Royina Garma further detailed how Duterte’s anti-drug war mirrored the approach used in Davao City when he was mayor, scaling local practices to a national level.
Fernandez, co-chair of the Quad Comm, noted that the Vice President exhibits similar traits as her father by refusing to allow her OVP staff to attend hearings investigating her alleged misuse of government funds.
“I think the father and daughter have the same personality, shielding their own people,” Fernandez stated.
He compared her actions to her father’s stance during his war on drugs, where he assumed full legal and moral responsibility for his administration’s campaign—a stance he reiterated during a recent Senate inquiry.
But Fernandez cast doubt on the former president’s assurances of protection for implicated police officers.
“Nagsalita na po si PNP Chief, and sinabi niya that 1,286 na mga affected noong war on drugs died, and others were wounded,” Fernandez said. “‘Yung iba naman po ay 219 cops were I think charged criminally and almost 200 plus ang na-dismiss,” he added, underscoring the scale of officers affected.
“‘Yung pronouncement ng [dating] Presidente [Duterte] that siya po ang sasagot sa lahat ng problems nung mga lower ranks sa ating pong kapulisan, para atang hindi po nangyayari,” Fernandez said, warning of a troubling pattern that goes beyond the former president’s term.
“And this is the same trait and behavior that are now being manifested in his daughter,” he said.
The Blue Ribbon Committee is investigating the alleged misuse of P500 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP, which were disbursed in four installments of P125 million each, starting in the fourth quarter of 2022 and continuing through the first three quarters of 2023.
The Commission on Audit flagged nearly half of the initial P112.5 million, disallowing P73 million spent by the OVP within just 11 days in late 2022. Audit Observation Memorandums were also issued for the entire P375 million spent in the first three quarters of 2023, citing alleged irregularities.
The Blue Ribbon panel is also looking into the alleged irregularities surrounding the P125 million in confidential funds allocated in 2023 to the DepEd when it was still headed by the Vice President.
