Lawmakers: ICI ‘effectively defunct’; President must explain
INQUIRER PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines—The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) is now “effectively defunct” after Commissioner Rossana Fajardo announced she would step down at the end of the year, according to lawmakers pushing for the creation of a more powerful body to investigate public works corruption.
Members of the minority at the House of Representatives said that with Fajardo’s exit, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is left with a narrow window to salvage the credibility of his anticorruption campaign, focusing on flood control projects.
The President can do so by certifying as urgent all pending bills, giving the ICI more resources, authority, and permanence as a fact-finding body.
Fajardo, a veteran auditor with decades of experience in the private sector, became the second commissioner to announce her resignation from the three-member ICI, following former Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, who stepped down on Dec. 15.
This left the chair, former Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes Jr., as the only official left to carry out what remained of the commission’s tasks.
‘One-member commission’
For Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima and Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, Fajardo’s resignation only underscored the need to pass House Bill No. 4453 and House Bill No. 5699, which would give the ICI subpoena powers, a dedicated budget, and a clearer mandate.
The bills have yet to advance in the legislative mill, even with Marcos and Speaker Faustino Dy III listing them among their priorities.
The ICI’s lack of legal powers and funding was said to be one of the reasons for the resignation of Singson, who also cited stress and security concerns for his family in his decision to leave.
“If you have a commission with the formidable task of fighting corruption but with limited powers and resources, and an administration that is reluctant to swiftly provide support through urgent legislation and much-needed budget, then it is doomed to fail,” De Lima said.
“The ICI might as well close shop. For how can it further function as a one-member commission?” she added. “Even more frustrating is the fact that the ICI actually has so much left to do.”
What happens now?
Erice said the collapse of the ICI “appeared deliberate” after the resignation not only of Fajardo and Singson but also of its special adviser, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
“What happens now to what may be the greatest heist in government infrastructure and the national budget?” he asked. “President Marcos owes the Filipino people a clear and honest explanation of what is happening to his presidency.”
Another House minority member, Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno, said Fajardo’s exit also made it “important to ask what the results of the Commission’s three months of work have been.”
“The problem is clear: the ICI is sorely lacking in power and mandate,” Diokno said.
For Kamanggagawa Rep. Elijah San Fernando, the Palace-created body is now reduced to an “inchoate, comedic and incompetent” entity.
With no independent funding, no staff of its own, and no coercive powers, “it is clear that it has no use other than being a deodorizer for the administration just to say that it is doing something about the flood control scandal,” San Fernando said.
He said his office had also gathered that several ICI staff members were also leaving. /cb
