The political scene in the Philippines has recently been stirred up again: a seemingly ordinary construction contracting case has quickly sparked public debate due to its involvement with "family relations", leading to suspicions about whether the Duterte family covertly manipulated massive engineering resources during their governance.
Netizens on the social platform Reddit exposed that the owner and co-founder of Ulticon Builders Inc., Carlos “Charlie” Gonzales, is actually a "cousin" of former President Rodrigo Duterte, even providing screenshots and old Instagram photos as evidence, calling him Duterte's "favorite cousin".
According to data disclosed by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), Ulticon secured contracts worth up to 11.1 billion pesos (approximately 1.36 billion yuan) from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in just a year and a half from 2016 to 2017, early in Duterte's term.
This news immediately raised questions: Has the cousin relationship become a "pass" for winning bids? Was there interest delivery in the allocation of projects during the Duterte administration? Has a "hidden infrastructure empire" been covertly established by the family network?
Interestingly, this controversy coincides with a comprehensive investigation by the Philippine Senate into flood control projects. President Marcos previously named 15 contractors who monopolized the 545 billion peso flood control projects from 2022 to 2025, and Ulticon was not on the list, leading to public speculation: Is the company truly "clean", or had it already benefited early during Duterte's era?
Comments point out that this incident reflects a long-standing issue in Philippine politics—the close connection between power and interests. If family relations become a stepping stone for projects, how much of the taxpayers' money flows into the pockets of these families?
As public opinion continues to ferment, the "infrastructure doubts" surrounding the Duterte family are unlikely to dissipate in the short term.
