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Benjamin Magalong resigns from Independent Commission for Infrastructure
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong has resigned as special adviser of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. formed to investigate alleged anomalies worth billions of pesos in flood control projects and other infrastructure.
According to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by Joseph Morong of GMA Integrated News, Magalong resigned on Friday. The post contained the city mayor's letter.
The resignation came after Malacañang announced that Marcos would have the legal team study if his designation was proper.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong resigns as adviser from the Independent Commission for Infrastructure @gmanews @24OrasGMA pic.twitter.com/COwaUkaPJU
— Joseph Morong ???????? (@Joseph_Morong) September 26, 2025
Conflict of interest?
Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro made the announcement on Friday, saying that the President wanted to avoid a conflict of interest.
“Nadinig po din natin ang kagalang-galang na Mayor Magalong na nauubusan na yata siya or busy siya or kinukulang na ang oras niya sa Baguio City dahil busy siya sa ICI. Hindi po gugustuhin ng Pangulong Marcos Jr. na makaligtaan ni Mayor Magalong ang mga kababayan natin sa Baguio City," Castro said.
"At kailangan unahin po rin ang mga kababayan natin sa Baguio City dahil siya po ay special adviser hindi naman po niya kinakailangan na ubusin ang oras sa ICI dahil hindi po siya miyembro ng ICI,” she added.
(We heard Mayor Magalong’s sentiments that he’s been very busy with the ICI and it seems that he lacks time for Baguio City. The President does not want Mayor Magalong to forget Baguio City. He needs to prioritize Baguio City as he’s only a special adviser and not a member of the ICI.)
'Undermined the mandate'
In his letter to Marcos, Magalong said, "The Palace's pronouncements concerning my designation, which run contrary to the terms of my appointment, have undermined the role and mandate entrusted to me."
"Combined with circumstances that already cast doubt on the independence of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, it has become clear that my continued service is no longer tenable," Magalong said.
"Let it also be stated that I have not neglected, nor will I ever neglect, my primary responsibility to the people of Baguio, whose welfare and interests remain at the core of my public service. I hereby tender my resignation from the Independent Commission for Infrastructure effective immediately," he added.
ICI's busy week
Magalong's resignation came at the end of a week that saw the ICI interview former Department of Public Works and Highways engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez, and Jaypee Mendoza–individuals who have been implicated in alleged ghost and substandard flood control projects and billions of pesos in kickbacks.
The commission has also received luxury vehicles – a GMC Yukon SUV and a Lamborghini supercar –from Hernandez.
The ICI also interviewed senators Francis "Chiz" Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, and Joel Villanueva, whose names have also come up in the congressional investigations on the allegedly anomalous flood control projects. They have all denied the allegations against them.
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, and former Sen. Grace Poe, a former chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, also appeared before the committee.
The commission has also inspected sites of alleged substandard flood control projects.
'Imbestigador talaga'
Marcos said he chose Magalong as special adviser of the ICI because of his integrity and track record as an investigator.
Magalong was a former chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and was the top investigator of the Mamasapano incident in 2015.
''There have been questions as to why Mayor Benjie has been included, and the answer is very simple – when I went to Baguio at tiningnan ko iyong mga malabo na flood control project ay sinalubong niya kaagad ako ng isang report. Imbestigador naman talaga si Mayor Benjie," Marcos said in a news conference in mid-September.
"Kung maalala ninyo, he was the one who wrote, as CIDG head, he was the one who wrote the seminal report on the Mamasapano incident and that was… immediately, that gave me… put him—that’s when I came to know of him and saw that he has integrity,'' he added.
(When I went to Baguio and I saw the suspicious flood control projects, he immediately presented his report to me. Mayor Benjie is really an investigator. If you remember, he was the one who wrote, as CIDG head, he was the one who wrote the seminal report on the Mamasapano incident and that was... immediately, that gave me... put him—that’s when I came to know of him and saw that he has integrity.) –NB, GMA Integrated News
