The congressman-son of former president Rodrigo Duterte has found himself in hot water after he was recently sued for hurting a man in a Davao City nightclub.
The complainant, Kristone John Patria, alleged that Davao City First District Rep. Paolo Duterte also attempted to stab him inside a bar in Bo. Obrero early dawn last February 23.
A video clip of the alleged bar incident was posted in the internet and has gone viral. It showed a taller man who appeared to be Rep. Duterte pushing a cap-wearing man repeatedly. The taller man then swung a knife to the side of the other man. The video also showed the tall man head-butting the shorter man.
Complainant Patria has confirmed in a television interview in Manila May 5 that he was the cap-wearing man in the video. He said the congressman attacked him in a fit of rage over a misunderstanding in the fees of bar girls during that fateful evening.
Patria, who admitted he was a pimp, said he was manhandled and was placed under the mercy of the congressman for about two hours.
In The Netherlands where he was attending for his detained father, Rep. Duterte said the video was “long time ago” and he will let people in Davao City to make their own judgment during election day on May 12. The congressman is seeking re-election.
Rep. Duterte said he will not be making a formal statement on the charges against him until he sees the documents. He told camera-wielding Filipinos near the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention center that his lawyers were also trying to establish if the video was authentic and how it was leaked to the public.
In Manila, asked by the press about the time lapse, Patria said it took him time before finally deciding to press charges against the former president’s eldest son because he knew that odds are stacked against him. The complainant stressed that Rep. Duterte comes from an influential family in Davao City.
The city mayor is the congressman’s younger brother, Sebastian Duterte, while the country’s vice-president, Sara Duterte-Carpio, is his younger sister.
The Department of Justice confirmed that it received a formal complaint against Patria in the DOJ main office in Manila last May 2.
For Vice-president Sara Duterte-Carpio, considered as the leader of the political opposition, the criminal complaint against her brother is “part of a broader political smear campaign” against her family.
The Vice-president blamed the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. for the latest legal assault against her brother-congressman. She also described the criminal case as a smokescreen for the failures of the three-year old Marcos government.
The Vice-president noted that when the controversy over the alleged tampering in the 2025 budget preparations surfaced, an impeachment case was filed against her.
“Wala namang ibang ginawa ang administrasyon na ito kundi pamumulitika lang at paninira sa mga kalaban nila sa pulitika,” said the Vice-president at the sidelines of a political rally in Zamboanga City May 3.
(This administration has done nothing but play politics and smear their political opponents.)
In reaction, the Presidential Palace merely brushed aside the Vice-president’s tirades.
Palace Press Officer Undersec. Claire Castro said Congressman Duterte should just answer the complaint lodged against him.
”Kung inamin naman po ni Congressman Pulong Duterte, ayon sa kaniyang interview, hindi niya itinanggi ang video, papaano ipapahid ng Bise Presidente ang ginawang ito ng kaniyang kapatid sa Pangulo at sa administrasyon?” Castro said.
(If Congressman Pulong Duterte, in his interview, did not deny the video, why blame the President and his administration?)
