CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Davao City accounted for more than half of Southern Mindanao’s confidential fund allocations in 2023 and 2024, receiving P1.06 billion, or about 50% of the over P2 billion allocated to the governors and mayors of the region’s five provinces and six cities.

The city and provincial governments of Davao Region had confidential funds amounting to P1.083 billion in 2023 and P1.021 billion in 2024, based on data collated by Rappler from separate Commission on Audit (COA) reports.

Only three in the Davao Region cut their confidential fund allocations in 2024: Davao del Norte by nearly two-thirds, Davao de Oro by more than half, and Panabo City by one-sixth.

Dwarfing 2 other top spenders

COA data showed Davao City’s allocation, under Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, was about four times that of Davao Oriental province, the second-highest confidential fund spender in the region, which allocated P133.5 million in each of the two years, for a total of P267 million.

Davao City also far outpaced and dwarfed Mati, a city in Davao Oriental and the region’s third-highest spender. Its P1.06 billion allocation was nearly five times Mati’s combined P212 million – P102 million in 2023 and P110 million in 2024.

“Sana kinuha na nila ang lahat; parang nahiya pa sila! Isang siyudad lang ang kumubra ng mahigit kalahati ng confidential funds sa buong rehiyon,” Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega, representative of La Union’s 1st District told Rappler.

(They might as well have taken it all; it’s like they were still holding back! Just one city took more than half of the confidential funds in the entire region.)

For Ortega, the COA figures pointed to something beyond what might ordinarily be seen as a special treatment.

“Ayon sa COA, hindi lang ito ‘VIP treatment’ – solong-solo ng Davao City ang buffet habang budget meal na lang ang natira sa iba,” he said.

(Based on the COA data, this isn’t just VIP treatment – Davao City got the whole buffet while everyone else was left with a budget meal.)

Ortega pointed to the disparity as Vice President Sara Duterte, Davao City’s former mayor, is being tried before the Senate impeachment court over her confidential fund spendings since her rise to the second-highest position of the government in 2022. She was mayor of Davao City during her father Rodrigo’s presidency from 2016 to 2022, when the city’s confidential fund allocations surged.

Davao City’s annual confidential funds rose from P144 million in 2016 to P293 million in 2017 and P420 million in 2018, more than doubling in two years. The allocation reached P460 million by 2022, and from 2016 to 2022 the Davao City government allocated over P2.6 billion for confidential expenses, surpassing the spending of wealthier cities such as Makati, Manila, Quezon City and Cebu City.

The spending increased further under her brother, Baste, after he succeeded his sister as mayor in 2022.

Davao, however, is the region’s economic center, the most developed in Mindanao, and the largest city in terms of land area. It is also the Davao Region’s only highly urbanized city, while the other cities are component cities under their respective provinces.

Cities’ allocations

Across the region’s six cities, confidential fund allocations amounted to P1.496 billion during the 2023-2024 period, with Davao City accounting for nearly 71% of the total.

The six cities allocated P744.524 million in 2023 and P751.694 million in 2024. The distribution, however, remained heavily skewed toward Davao City, which allocated P530 million in each year.

Mati was a distant second, with P212 million, or 14.17% of the six-city total during the 2023-2024 period. 

Tagum City in Davao del Norte followed with P100 million, or 6.68%; Digos, a city in Davao del Sur, accounted for P82.678 million, or 5.53%; Samal, in Davao del Norte, with P30.540 million, or 2.04%; and Panabo, also in Davao del Norte, with P11 million, or 0.74%.

Mati allocated P102 million in 2023 and P110 million in 2024. Tagum had P50 million in each year, while Digos set aside P41.339 million in both years.

Samal, meanwhile, had P15.185 million in 2023 and another P15.355 million in 2024, while Panabo allocated P6 million in 2023 and P5 million in 2024. Panabo is the only Davao Region city that lowered its confidential fund allocation during that period.

P608M for the provinces

The region’s five provinces, taken together, had P608.5 million in confidential funds over the two years – P338.5 million in 2023 and P270 million in 2024.

Davao Oriental accounted for the largest share among the provinces, with P267 million, or 43.88% of the provincial total. It was followed by Davao de Oro with P127.5 million, or 20.95%; Davao Occidental with P120 million, or 19.72%; Davao del Sur with P60 million, or 9.86%; and Davao del Norte with P34 million, or 5.59%.

Davao Oriental set aside P133.5 million in each of the two years. Davao de Oro allocated P90 million in 2023 and P37.5 million in 2024, an almost 60% drop.

Meanwhile, Davao Occidental had P60 million in both years, while Davao del Sur allocated P30 million in both. Davao del Norte allocated P25 million in 2023 and P9 million in 2024, a 64% drop.

The data in this report exclude the Davao Region’s 43 municipalities, each with a local executive allowed by law to have confidential funds. – with reports from Dwight de Leon and research by Lourence Angelo Marcellana/Rappler.com