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ICI fate hangs in balance
The Freeman
|January 17, 2026
President Bongbong Marcos said the fate of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) will depend on how much work remains as it nears the end of its investigation on the anomalous flood control projects.
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MARCOS
In an ambush interview on Friday, January 16, Marcos said he believes the independent body he created has already investigated most of those involved and implicated in the anomalous flood control projects.
"Depends on how much work they have left. Kung matapos na ang trabaho nila, we'll see. But they are really coming towards the end. Lahat ng kailangang imbestigahan, naimbestigahan na nila," he said.
(Depends on how much work they have left. If they finish their jobs, we'll see. But they are really coming towards the end. All that they needed to investigate, they have already.)
If the ICI still has information to submit to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman, Marcos said he would allow the commission to continue operating.
"But if the work is done, kung naibigay na lahat ng info sa DOJ at sa Ombudsman (if all the information has been turned over to the DOJ and Ombudsman), then the focus now of the investigation will go through the DOJ and the Ombudsman," the president added.
This development follows the resignations of two of the commission’s three commissioners in December, leaving the ICI with Chairperson Andres Reyes Jr., Executive Director Brian Hosaka and Special Adviser Rodolfo Azurin Jr.
This story is from the January 17, 2026 edition of The Freeman.
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