The ad hoc commission was established to investigate anomalies in connection with the flood control projects.
In his interview on Friday, January 16, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. directly stated his view of the work of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), whose future had been subject to speculations in the past weeks.
According to the chief executive, the ICI has already completed its investigation and is now trying to tie a loose end or two before officially wrapping up as a body.
“Kung matapos na ‘yung trabaho nila, then we will see what they can do next. But they really are coming toward the end– lahat ng kailangang imbestigahan, naimbestigahan na nila. Maybe there are one or two other loose ends that they have to clear up,” he told after stating that the ICI’s future lies on how much work they have left.
Meanwhile, in response to a question on whether he would be reappointing new commissioners, he said that it would be dependent on the work cut out for the commission.
“We haven’t really decided on that yet. Again, it all depends on the work that ICI still has in front of them,” he said.
Although, he is clear that if ICI is already done with their job, the flood control case will be handed over to the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice.
“Pag kailangan pa, then we will. But if the work is done, kung naibigay na lahat ng information sa DOJ (Department of Justice) saka sa Ombudsman, then the focus now of the investigation will go to the DOJ and the Ombudsman,” PBBM told.
The ICI was established last September by virtue of Executive No. 94, where it was tasked to investigate anomalies in flood control projects in the past ten years.
Among those it investigated were reports to the Sumbong sa Pangulo website, where the public submitted complaints on questionable flood control and other infrastructure projects and were later forwarded to the ICI.
Former Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes Jr. continues to serve as chairperson of the ICI, while Commissioners Rogelio Singson and Rossana Fajardo—who were simultaneously appointed in September—have concluded their service last December after successfully completing their tasks.
Upon the recommendation of the ICI, the Office of the Ombudsman has also started filing complaints against several personalities, while the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has issued freeze orders for the bank accounts and other assets of individuals linked to the corruption scheme.