DAVAO CITY – First District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Z. Duterte has broken his silence following the circulation of a viral video allegedly showing him assaulting a man during a bar incident reportedly involving women.

In a brief but pointed statement addressed to his constituents, Duterte acknowledged the incident caught on video but withheld further comment pending legal verification.

“To my fellow Dabawenyos, you’ve probably seen the video, which happened a while ago. It’s still your decision on who to vote for as congressman in the first district. I won’t interfere, and the lawyer has also told me that they’re still verifying the origin of the video. It seems like the testimony and affidavit from social media were filed earlier with the CIDG, but it should have gone through the fiscal. I can’t make a statement about it yet because we haven’t received the documents about the case filed against me. Thank you very much for your continuous support for me and my family,” Duterte said.

Pulong Faces Charges from Assault Inside Bar

The congressman’s statement comes as he faces multiple criminal charges stemming from an alleged violent episode that occurred on the night of February 23, 2025. A formal complaint, docketed as XVT-INV-25E-00102, was filed with the Davao City Prosecutor’s Office and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) by 37-year-old local trader Kristone John Patriarca.

According to Patriarca, he was contacted by businessman Charlie Tan to provide “the six prettiest girls he could find” for a private gathering at Tan’s residence in Woodridge, Barangay Maa — where Duterte and several Chinese nationals were allegedly drinking. After the gathering shifted to the Hearsay Gastropub Bar in Barangay Obrero, a dispute allegedly broke out over the women’s payments.

In his sworn statement, Patriarca claimed Duterte physically assaulted him, headbutted him, and threatened to kill him. He also accused the congressman of attempting to stab him with a knife, saying the attack lasted for nearly two hours, during which the lawmaker allegedly ordered the CCTV cameras turned off to conceal the assault.

“Dahil sa galit at kalasingan ni Paolo Duterte ay ako ang nakita niyang pagbuhusan ng galit,” Patriarca said. “Nang makita ng bodyguard niya na may CCTV ay agad pinapatay niya ang CCTV ng lugar at doon na ako nakorner. Halos 2 hours niya ako sinaktan sa loob ng bar, suntok, sampal, tadyak ang aking inabot kay Paolo Duterte dahil sa galit niya sa akin.”

After the attack, Duterte allegedly returned to Woodridge with one of the women and demanded that Patriarca cover her fee — threatening to hunt him down if he refused to pay.

“Nalaman ko ito dahil sa nagsabi siya na ako ang magbabayad ng pera sa naka-s*x niyang babae at kung hindi ko daw bayaran ang babae ay ako raw ang kanyang papatayin at hahantingin,” the victim said.

The charges filed include grave threats, less serious physical injuries, attempted murder, and possible violations of RA 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.

📷📹 contributed