Ombudsman: ICI may have only a month or two left

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) may wrap up its operations in a month or two and turn over the investigation on the flood control scam entirely to the Office of the Ombudsman, according to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla.

- By ELIZABETH MARCELO

In an interview with GMA’s Unang Balita yesterday, Remulla said the ICI is not really meant to be a permanent agency, and its functions of investigating the corruption in infrastructure projects may be taken over by the ombudsman.

“1 think it (ICI) only has a month or two, and then they can turn over all their works to us. What they have accomplished will greatly help us in terms of speeding up the investigation and the gathering of evidence,” Remulla said in Filipino.

Asked if it means that the ICI will stop its operations and the ombudsman will take over the investigation on the anomalies in government infrastructure projects, especially the flood control projects, Remulla answered in the affirmative.

“That's the direction it is going. ICI is not intended to be forever. We have the law that created the Office of the Ombudsman. And we are now very active. In the coming year, we will be hiring young lawyers to carry on the job,” he said.

Remulla’s statement came just a couple of days after Rogelio Singson resigned as commissioner of the ICI, citing health reasons, while also lamenting that the Commission lacks budget and an enabling law to carry out its mandate.

“He told me a long time ago that he only intended to stay until December, because he also had a lot of other personal matters to attend to. It’s also really tiring,” Remulla said, referring to Singson’s resignation.

He said his office’s investigation on the alleged involvement of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and former senator Bong Revilla Jr. in the flood control project anomalies is nearing its conclusion.

“We are wrapping up our preliminary investigation on them. Let's see, if case information will be filed at the Sandiganbayan,” Remulla said.