Magalong on quitting ICI: The message was to stand down

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said Malacañang's public announcement that his appointment as special adviser and investigator of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) was under legal review sent him a “clear message” to stand down.

- By JANVIC MATEO

“Wouldn't it have been a simple courtesy to call me in? To tell me that there’s an issue that needs to be fixed first because there’s a problem? But that’s not what happened. We were out there working hard... and then I just found out that they already had a press conference,” Magalong said in Filipino in an interview yesterday with “Story-con” on One News.

“The presscon, it only meant one thing: stop investigating.

Stand down. It was easy to understand that presscon," he added, referring to the Sept. 26 Palace briefing wherein press officer Claire Castro said the President ordered a legal review of Magalong's dual role as ICI adviser and Baguio mayor.

In a separate "Storycon" interview last week, Castro denied that Malacañang was sending any message to Magalong, saying she merely answered a reporter's question.