Palace: Marcos Still Trusts ICI as Congress Eyes New People’s Commission

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continues to trust the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) even as he urged Congress to prioritize a bill seeking to establish a new and more powerful Independent People’s Commission (IPC), Malacañang said on Wednesday, December 10.

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the President still has confidence in the ICI’s ongoing work despite the pending proposal to create a new investigative body.

“Wala pa naman po ang batas at tiwala po ang pangulo sa mga ginagawa ng ICI,” Castro said in a Palace press briefing.

However, Castro stressed that lawmakers must ensure that the proposed Independent People’s Commission would not duplicate the functions of existing agencies, particularly the Office of the Ombudsman.

She added that it should not be used as a political weapon.

The Palace also dismissed claims that the ICI lacks authority, even if it does not have contempt powers to compel cooperation from those it summons for investigation.

Castro explained that the ICI was created mainly to gather data, documents, and evidence, and not to exercise judicial authority.

“Wala silang contempt power dahil hindi ito ang purpose… kung hindi mag-gather ng data, documents, evidence,” she said.

She also revealed that cases have already been filed against individuals linked to alleged corruption in flood control projects, and that several assets have been frozen as a result of the ICI’s findings.

Malacañang’s statement came a day after President Marcos asked Congress to prioritize four legislative measures, including the bill that would create the Independent People’s Commission, which is expected to eventually replace the ICI in investigating reported infrastructure anomalies.