Candidate for vice mayor says Duterte-Marcos rift affecting services in Davao
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/ 15 April) – A candidate for vice mayor here said the political conflict between the Duterte and Marcos camps has affected the delivery of government services in the city.
City Councilor Bernard Al-ag, a former Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod member who is running against City Mayor Sebastian Duterte in the May 12 elections, said the Dutertes and their supporters should stop feuding with the national government.
Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod is led by the Dutertes.
“I hope the conflict will stop, especially with the national government, because Dabawenyos are affected. Services here in Davao are affected while [President Ferdinand] Marcos Jr. and Duterte are fighting,” Al-ag told reporters in the vernacular on the sidelines of the city council’s regular session Tuesday afternoon.
Al-ag’s candidacy is supported by former Civil Service Commission chair Karlo Nograles, son of the late House Speaker Prospero “Boy” Nograles who is running for mayor against former President Rodrigo Duterte. The former leader is now detained at The Hague, Netherlands to face charges of crimes against humanity of murder for deaths linked to his bloody “war on drugs.”
Al-ag said this is what he meant by his viral online statement about a “possible zero budget” for the city if the Dutertes win on May 12.
“If they remain in their positions, I’m sure, if they win, they will get no budget from the national government. To solve flooding we need P10 billion. Hopefully in the future, with our mayor, our congressman, we can get a budget for flood control,” Al-ag said in the viral video posted Monday afternoon on the Facebook page Davao Emergency Situation and Updates, which was reposted by other users.
When asked by reporters on Tuesday, Al-ag said what he meant is that political differences can have a “negative effect on budget allocation” from the national government.
He added that under Sebastian Duterte as mayor opposition councilors were given “zero budget” for their development funds.
“But by law, if I’m a city councilor, I would have a budget for my office, but I can’t get a development fund because we are in conflict with the mayor,” Al-ag said.
“The idea there is that the city may get these extra projects from the national government… If you are against the national government, you can’t get your extra funds,” he added.
The Dutertes have not issued a statement on Al-ag’s recent claims.
However, during his campaign sortie in Talomo on April 11, 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte said his office is operational and rendering services from Monday to Friday.
In January 2024, Duterte lambasted House leaders, including PBA Rep. Migs Nograles, one of his opponents in the May 12 elections, for the budget cut of P2 billion for his district that year. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)
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