ICI ‘winds down’, operational until March 31

MANILA, Philippines — The Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) on Friday said it will remain operational only until March 31 as it begins to “wind down” its functions almost six months after its creation.

ICI chair Andres Reyes, in a statement, said he recommended “that the ICI wind down its operations.”

In relation to this, ICI chair Andres Reyes also announced that the body has finished the turn over of all of its documents, evidence, and findings to the Office of the Ombudsman.

READ: ICI turns over docs to Ombudsman as Marcos says job done

Reyes, in a statement said he recommended “that the ICI wind down its operations.”

“The Commission will remain operational until March 31, 2026 to complete the necessary administrative processes related to its wind-down,” Reyes also said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued the Executive Order (EO) No. 94, creating the three-member body on Sept. 15 last year.

Section 10 of EO 94 has a sunset provision providing that ICI could be abolished “upon the accomplishment of the purposes for which it was created or unless sooner dissolved by the President.”

ICI accomplishments

Marcos on Wednesday said ICI tasks have already been fulfilled. 

Andres echoed this, noting that the ICI has since began efforts for asset recovery, submissions of referrals for further movements, and even the development of three information systems designed to detect fraud and other irregularities in infrastructure projects. 

“While these represent only the initial phase of a much broader investigative and restitution effort, these accomplishments demonstrate that, with strong inter-agency coordination, proper investigations can be conducted which could ultimately lead to the successful prosecution of those responsible and the recovery of stolen public funds,” Andres said.

“With these frameworks and systems now in place, I believe that the Commission has fulfilled its mandate under Executive Order No. 94, and that the work initiated by the ICI is now properly situated to be carried forward by the agencies established by law,” he continued.

As of Friday, Reyes confirmed that the ICI has finished its turn over to the Office of the Ombudsman all of the documents, evidence, and findings, which Jesus Crispin Remulla, the chief Ombudsman, estimated to reach “200 mega boxes of data.”

“I told them that the data they gathered will serve as a guide to us,” Remulla said in a press conference after his meeting with ICI officials. “It will serve as a way to understand the problem, and the techniques and the technology they employed is an eye-opener.”

Reyes said among the ICI’s submission to the Ombudsman include nine referrals covering 65 individuals, whom the body recommended either for filing of criminal charges or subject to further investigation.

Remulla said among these referred individuals include eight House of Representative lawmakers and seven senators.

‘Was ICI really necessary?’

“Basically we run along parallel lines,” Remulla said in a press conference after his meeting with ICI officials. “The ones we’re investigating as the Ombudsman is the one that they also went through based on the same testimonies that we were able to get.”

Remulla, however, noted that the Ombudsman is “way ahead” when it comes to investigating House lawmakers linked in the flood control anomalies.

“Was the ICI really necessary?” said Michael Henry Yusingco, a non-resident research fellow at the Ateneo School of Government, said in an interview with Inquirer on Friday. “Was it just a waste of taxpayers’ money?”

Over P41 million was released as the budget for ICI in December—or over three months after its creation—as its former commissioner Rogelio Singson lamented that budgetary constraints were among the reasons why the body could not fully do its mandate.

READ: DBM releases ICI’s funds after Singson’s resignation lament

It was also in December when Singson and Rosanna Fajardo tendered their resignation as commissioner, leaving Reyes as the sole member of what was supposed to be a three-member body. The ICI functioned as a collegial body for only 90 days.

Furthermore,  the resignation of both Singson and Fajardo, made it harder for the commission to even conduct hearings, which had been almost always a closed-door one.

READ: Another ICI commissioner resigns

“The questions that need to be asked of the president is, was the ICI just a way to show the public that the administration is doing something about infra related corruption?” Yusingco asked.

READ: Even with just 1 member, ICI can still bring cases to Ombudsman – Palace

“The Marcos admin can’t be allowed to simply declare ‘mission accomplished’ with the dissolution of the ICI,” he also said. “Media and civil society need to demand more actions from the Marcos administration in addressing rampant corruption.”

Questions surrounding flood control projects began when Marcos, during his State of the Nation Address in July, said that 5,500 flood-control projects have already been completed under his term, with his critics casting doubt on such figures amid persistent flooding during that time.

After this, Marcos ordered the investigation of all of the almost 10,000 flood control projects completed in the past three years, and he himself revealed that P100 billion—or about 20 percent of the entire P545-billion budget for flood mitigation projects undertaken by his administration from July 2022 to May 2025—was awarded to only 15 contractors.

Marcos’ revelation served as a floodgate for revelations that several flood control projects are found to be either overpriced or non-existent due to the alleged collusion of lawmakers, private contractors and Public Works engineers and officials to embezzle billions of pesos worth of funds.

To quell mounting public outrage that led to a nationwide September 21 protest and persistent rumors of withdrawal of military support, the government formed the ICI. /das/cb