MANILA, Philippines — The Duterte camp’s claim that Davao City received little or no national government funding in recent years is facing renewed scrutiny after Malacañang disclosed that the city government and its barangays received a combined ₱53.11 billion in National Tax Allotment and other national government releases from Fiscal Years 2022 to 2026.
Palace Press Officer and Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro released the figures on Friday, September 4, disputing statements by Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte that the city had effectively been left without a national government budget.
According to the figures cited by Castro, ₱52.80 billion of the total came from the National Tax Allotment (NTA).
Of that amount, approximately ₱41.63 billion went to the Davao City government, while ₱11.17 billion represented the combined NTA of the city’s barangays.
The NTA is the statutory share of national tax revenues automatically allocated to local government units. This distinction is important because the figure should not be interpreted as a single discretionary fund personally granted by the national administration.
Where the additional ₱314.48 million came from
Beyond the NTA, Malacañang said Davao City and its barangays received another ₱314.48 million in releases under the General Appropriations Act during the same five-year fiscal period.
The Palace breakdown included:
- ₱175.50 million in financial assistance to local government units through the Local Government Support Fund;
- ₱79.55 million in local government shares from Fire Code fees;
- ₱25.14 million from incremental collections from value-added tax;
- ₱18.61 million under the Barangay Development Program;
- ₱10.65 million for participatory budgeting; and
- ₱4.92 million in special shares from the utilization and development of national wealth.
Adding the ₱52.80 billion NTA to the ₱314.48 million in other releases brings the recorded total to approximately ₱53.11 billion.
But the ₱53.11 billion figure does not tell the whole funding story
The Palace emphasized that the ₱53.11-billion figure does not include individual programs and projects implemented directly by national government agencies in Davao City.
Those agency-funded activities can include projects and services implemented through agencies such as the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Transportation and Department of Agriculture.
That distinction matters because national-government support for a city can take several forms: statutory local-government allocations, direct agency projects, infrastructure spending, social programs, transportation projects and other appropriations.
The dispute is not new
The latest Palace figures revive a funding dispute that erupted earlier in 2026.
In May, Malacañang already rejected claims that Davao City had received “zero budget” under the Marcos administration.
At that time, the Palace cited Department of Budget and Management records showing at least ₱7.856 billion in national government support for Davao City from 2023 to 2026, including national tax allotments, special shares, Fire Code fees and various programs and projects.
The earlier figure included approximately ₱7.440 billion from identified national government agency programs and projects, covering areas such as farm-to-market roads, health facilities, justice and civil-defense facilities, infrastructure, education facilities and public transportation modernization.
The city also received additional Local Government Support Fund assistance, according to the DBM figures cited by the Palace.
The latest Palace disclosure is broader because it specifically presents the combined 2022–2026 NTA and other releases for the city and its barangays, producing the much larger ₱53.11-billion figure.
Why the numbers are becoming politically significant
The funding dispute comes as political tensions between the Marcos administration and the Duterte family remain high, while Davao City has also faced intense scrutiny over infrastructure and flood-control spending.
The issue is therefore bigger than a simple argument over whether Davao received government money.
The key question is what type of funding was received, where it went, which projects it supported, and whether the amounts being cited by opposing political camps are measuring the same thing.
That distinction is crucial.
The Palace’s ₱53.11-billion figure combines the city’s statutory NTA and other national releases to the city and its barangays. Earlier Palace figures, meanwhile, focused on national government support and identified agency programs and projects over a different period.
In other words, the competing numbers may reflect different funding categories and accounting periods, rather than necessarily describing the exact same pool of money.
What happens next?
The ₱53.11-billion disclosure is likely to keep the debate over Davao’s national funding alive—particularly as questions continue over infrastructure spending, flood-control projects and the national government’s relationship with one of the Duterte family’s strongest political bases.
For now, the documented Palace position is clear: Davao City and its barangays were not left without national government funding from 2022 through 2026.
But the more consequential debate may be what comes next: how much of that money translated into actual projects and services on the ground, and how should the various funding streams be compared?
That is where the political argument over Davao’s “zero budget” claim could become an even bigger accounting and accountability battle.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.S
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