Fact Check: Davao City Did Not Receive 'No Funds' Since 2022 — Claim Misinterprets Paolo Duterte

Online posts claiming that Davao City has "received no funds" from the national government since 2022 are false. The assertion appears to misread a comment by Paolo Duterte — a Davao City congressman and brother of Vice President Sara Duterte — about discretionary congressional allocations for his own legislative district, not the city's total national funding.

What the Viral Posts Say

A Facebook graphic shared on August 22, 2026, paired images of President Ferdinand Marcos and Paolo Duterte with the text: "Davao City received no funds in four years." The post accused Marcos of taking credit for projects in Davao despite withholding national funding. Screenshots circulated widely among Duterte supporters.

Where the Claim Came From

In a January 2026 interview, Paolo Duterte said:

"Since 2022 I have had no budget. What do I have to do with this? Like I said, we Davaoeños won't starve even without support from the national government."

On September 5 he clarified on Facebook that he was referring to congressional district allocables — discretionary funds lawmakers can earmark for local infrastructure — not to the full range of national transfers or projects affecting Davao City.

Why The Viral Claim Is Misleading

"Allocables" are only one component of national funding. They are distinct from the National Tax Allotment (NTA), direct expenditures by national agencies, nationally funded infrastructure projects, government hospitals and schools, and social programs. An economist from Ateneo de Manila University told AFP that allocables are "not synonymous" with these other funding streams.

Public Records And Official Figures

• Davao City reported its NTA rose nearly 14% in 2026 to more than 1.3 billion pesos (about US$20.8 million).
• Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) project listings show nationally funded infrastructure projects across all three of Davao City's congressional districts.
• Palace Press Officer Claire Castro told AFP that Davao City received about 53.11 billion pesos (US$845 million) from the national government between 2022 and 2026, including roughly 52.80 billion pesos in NTA shares and 314.48 million pesos in other General Appropriations Act releases. AFP could not independently verify the full breakdown because the budget department has not published yearly details.
• Investigative reporting by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) found that some Duterte-aligned lawmakers saw reductions or eliminations of their district allocables after the Marcos–Duterte alliance fractured. Those reports relied on lawmaker disclosures; allocable amounts are not centrally published.

Conclusion

The claim that "Davao City received no funds" since 2022 conflates a narrow category of discretionary congressional allocables with broader national funding streams. Public records, DPWH project listings, local budget trends and official statements demonstrate that Davao City continued to receive NTA transfers and nationally funded projects. While some district-level allocables may have been reduced for certain lawmakers, the blanket statement about the city is inaccurate.

Sources: AFP reporting; statements from Davao City and Palace press office; DPWH project listings; PCIJ reports; local budget reports.