BARANGAY 19-B in Davao City has been without a permanent barangay hall for several years already despite multiple promises of funding from both the Duterte and Marcos Jr. administrations.
Barangay Captain Loreto G. Nicolas and Barangay Administrator Benito Viray revealed this in a special meeting with local reporters on April 11, 2025.
Nicolas, who has served the barangay for ten years, first sought help from the national government in 2018 during the Duterte administration.
“Humingi (din) ng tulong sa City Hall pero napakaraming requirements (We also asked assistance from the City Hall but they had stringent requirements),” he recalled.
In the same year, the barangay submitted a funding request of P20 million for the construction of a new four-story barangay hall. The budget proposal was later raised to P40 million when Nicolas personally brought the matter to Malacañang when former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (FPRRD) “settled in” as president.
Viray also detailed how the barangay complied with all technical requirements, including the Program of Works, structural and environmental clearances, even resorting to personal funds to meet standards.
“More than P1.2 million ang nagasto ni kapitan sa requirements pa lang daan. Sariling bulsa. Walay kwarta ginagamit sa barangay (The barangay caption spent more than P1.2 million for the requirements only. That’s coming from his own money, not the barangay’s),” Viray said.
He also highlighted the early support Barangay 19-B gave to Duterte’s campaign:
“Tutuusin, during that time katong wala pa nag-file og candidacy si FPRRD, ang Barangay 19-B through Kapitan Nicolas nag-sponsor na i-open ang way sa Luzon og Visayas, Luzon og Visayas nga i-introduce si Duterte nga naay modagan nga taga Davao (If you think of it, during the time when FPRRD has not yet filed for certificate of candidacy for presidency, Barangay 19-B, through brgy. captain Nicolas already proposed to open the way in Luzon and Visayas to introduce Duterte, that someone from Davao City would run for presidency),” said Viray.
“So during that time, wala mi nag-expect og something in return, kay gasto sa sariling bulsa ni Kap (So during that time, we have not expected something in return, since it was barangay captain’s own expenses),” he added.
Despite their efforts, the promised funding never arrived. Paperwork was repeatedly returned due to lacking documents.
“Gi-comply namo ang lackings, paghuman og comply, gibalik napud (We complied all the lackings, after compliance, they returned the documents again),” Viray narrated.
On May 23, 2021, tragedy struck when the old barangay hall was destroyed by fire. The barangay followed up its request for a new barangay hall on May 31, but the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) responded that their request was not included in the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA) by the government.
In 2022, following the national elections, Nicolas made another attempt and sent a request to the Office of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
“Gisaaran na sad si kapitan og P100 million. Duha lang ka barangay ga-request og P120 million — si 19-B ug si Laguna (Brgy. captain was promised P100 million, there were only two barangays who requested P120 million — Brgy. 19-B and Laguna),” Viray explained. However, the funding never came.
“Wala pa sila nagamit sa barangay development fund kay they expected they will give the money they requested (They did not utilize the barangay development fund because they expected that they will be given the money they requested),” Viray claimed.
Compounding the problem, road widening reduced the original 98-square-meter lot to only 36 square meters — too small for a new hall.
“Ang nahabilin is 36 square meters nalang, straight siya. Dili nami makatukod (What remains is 36 square meters, that’s straight, so we could not build building infrastructure),” Nicolas once again hilariously responded to Davao media. “Unsay itukod namo ana? Haligi? (What would we build? A building post?).”
In response, the barangay decided to renovate the nearby SK building as a temporary barangay hall. “Mahimong (It would become a) barangay hall, if they will renovate, the city planning has already approved,” Viray confirmed.
Yet progress has stalled. The Program of Works remains pending, partly due to an overly detailed electrical plan. “Niagi na ang January, February, and March, karon April wala pa na-approve (January, February, March had passed, and now April but still it was not approved yet),” said Viray.
To move forward, the barangay has allocated an additional P5 million to supplement the remaining P2.2 million in their development fund. “Kalipay nila, kalipay pud sa constituents kay independent budget ilang gigamit (We are happy, the constituents are happy because the budget comes from our own),” Viray noted.
Viray also raised concerns over possible political interference during the time of President Duterte.
“Nawala lang og kalit ang request kay maybe politics involved gihapon. Tingala mi nga naay mag-request og P20 million dinhi sa Davao, District 2 og 3, ilang request na-approve, nganong amoa kay wala? (Our requested budget disappeared suddenly it may be because there was politics involved. We wondered – there were requests of P20 million made, from Districts 2 and 3 in Davao City, their requests were approved, why ours wasn’t?),” Viray narrated.
Nicolas further alleged that during the Duterte administration, he was approached by someone claiming to be from Malacañang and asked for P5 million in exchange for facilitating their request.
“Nong ma-approve kasi yan, P55 million, may pumunta sa akin, kinausap ako, humingi ng P5 million (When our proposed budget of P55 million was approved, somebody came to me and asked me P5 million)” Nicolas said.
“Tinanong ko taga saan siya, taga Malacañang ang nanghihingi. Tinanong ko pangalan, di nagsabi at umalis na. Tapos after two months siguro, yung pera automatically nawala. Tinanong namin kung saan napunta, ang sabi, na-divert daw sa construction sa iba (I asked the person where he from, he said the one asking was from Malacañang. I asked for his name, he didn’t say, after that he went. Maybe about two months later, the money automatically disappeared. We asked where the money gone, they told us, it was diverted to constructing other projects),” Nicolas revealed.
With only a year left in their term, the barangay officials remain hopeful the project will be completed.
“Dapat year 2025 mahuman ang barangay para naa silay legacy (It should be that by 2025 the construction of the new barangay hall has all been completed so that they will have a legacy),” said Viray. “Before December, they promised that before they exit they will transfer to a proper place.”
Currently, the barangay officials continue to hold office at a private building owned by Nicolas. “Luoy si captain kay wala na siya ga-generate og income (They brgy. Captain is a pity because he hasn’t generated income from his own building),” said Viray.
Despite years of bureaucracy, fire, and alleged corruption, Nicolas said that the people of Barangay 19-B continue to hope for the day they’ll finally have a barangay hall of their own. DEF with reports from Jhayrene Hermoso, DOrSU Intern