Mandaluyong city: The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) plans to submit a comprehensive report to the Office of the President (OP), yet remains inoperative due to a lack of quorum following the resignation of two commissioners.
According to Philippines News Agency, the ICI announced that the resignations of Rogelio Singson and Rossana Fajardo on December 15 and 31, 2025, respectively, have left Chairperson Andres Reyes Jr. as the sole member. Under Executive Order 94, issued by President Ferdinand R. Marcos in September 2025, the ICI requires a majority of its members to take official actions.
Despite the current inability to conduct operations, the ICI highlighted significant achievements made prior to the commissioners' departures. As of December 26, 2025, the commission had filed eight referrals with the Office of the Ombudsman, involving nearly 100 individuals, not counting joint referrals with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
These referrals have led to the filing of three cases by the Ombudsman and the arrest of 16 individuals. The commission has also worked to recover billions of pesos allegedly lost due to infrastructure-related irregularities. Coordinating with the Anti-Money Laundering Council and other government bodies, the ICI has successfully frozen over PHP20 billion in assets as part of their recovery efforts.
The ICI has suggested several improvements to enhance transparency and accountability in large-scale infrastructure projects. Recommendations include automatic sharing of DPWH contracts exceeding PHP30 million with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, increased transparency in the national budget process, better inter-agency coordination for real-time data sharing, and the formation of a technical working group dedicated to asset recovery.
Additional proposals involve suspending payments for projects under serious review, creating a national registry and blacklisting system for contractors, implementing stricter conflict-of-interest checks within the Office of the Ombudsman, strengthening whistleblower protections, live-streaming investigative hearings, and establishing a permanent independent body to investigate infrastructure corruption.
The ICI stated that these accomplishments will be detailed in a report summarizing the commission's work from its inception on September 11, 2025, to December 31, 2025. This report will be presented to the Office of the President to aid in determining the commission's future direction.
Until further developments, the ICI is committed to organizing, documenting, and safeguarding all records and evidence in its possession. Speaking in Mandaluyong City, President Marcos indicated that the ICI's future would depend on the remaining workload, as the commission approaches the end of its mandate.
