VP Sara questions ICI creation; Palace asks if she's 'scared' of probe

Vice President Sara Duterte on Saturday questioned the purpose of creating the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), saying it was only established to push the narrative of the Marcos administration. 

Created by an executive order in September, the ICI is currently investigating irregularities in flood control and other infrastructure projects in the past decade to determine who should be held accountable. 

This was after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., during his State of the Nation Address in July, slammed government officials and contractors who stole from public funds meant for flood control projects.

“Nagbukas sila ng ICI para kung ano man yung report ng ICI, yun na yung official na kwento ng nangyaring korapsyon, at yun na yung ifefeed nila sa tao, at sasabihin nila na ito yung kwento at ito yung gagawin nating responsible… That way ikaw na mamamayan, hindi mo na ma-dispute, di mo na ma-kontra yung results dahil sasabihin niya, legitimate yan… Paniwala ko, nile-legitimize nila yung kwento na gusto nila lumabas,” Duterte told reporters in Manaoag, Pangasinan.

(They established an ICI so that whatever the ICI reports, that would be the official story of what happened with corruption, and that’s what they will feel about the public, and they will say that this is the story and the persons responsible… That way, the citizens cannot dispute or contradict the results because they will say that they are legitimate… I believe that they are legitimizing the story they want to tell.)

“Napakadali naman noon eh, ilang bilyon ang confidential funds ng Office of the President. Sila-sila lang sa loob ng kanilang opisina, magagawa nila na mag-case build up gamit ang resources ng Office of the President at i-file nila yun diretso sa Ombudsman o saan man na korte. Pero bakit kailangan pa niya magbukas pa ng ICI, ng komisyon?” she added.

(It’s too easy to say that. How many billions are the Office of the President’s confidential funds? With just them in the office, they can make a case build-up using the Office of the President’s resources and file it straight with the Ombudsman or whatever court. But why do they still need to form an ICI, a commission?)

The Vice President also claimed that the flood control mess is being linked to Senator Bong Go and former President Rodrigo Duterte in order to hurt her chances should she decide to run for president in 2028. 

“Pag tinagpi-tagpi natin yun yung ginagawa nilang pag-atake sa dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte at ni Senator Bong Go, gusto lang din noon na matamaan ako dahil paniwala nila at siguro pakiramdam nila isa ako sa mga kandidato sa pagkapangulo sa 2028,” she said.

(If we put together the attacks they made against former President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Bong Go, they just wanted to attack me because they believe, and I guess they think, I will be one of the candidates for president in 2028.)

In response, Malacañang asked if Duterte was afraid that the ICI investigation might reveal something.

“Kaawa-awa ang mga taong parte ng gobyerno pero hindi nakakatulong sa gobyerno at sa bayan. Kaawa-awa ang taong naturingang public servant; puro haka-haka lang ang sinasabi para makapanira sa gobyerno,” Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a message to reporters.

(It is pitiful that people are part of the government but are unable to help the government and the country. It’s pitiful that a person considered a public servant is just stating made-up things to destroy the government.)

Castro reiterated that members of the ICI are not politicians and are experts in their respective fields.

“Ang mga tahi-tahi nyang kwento ay walang halaga. Hindi na dapat intindihan pa. Ang tanong: May kinatatakutan ba siyang mabunyag sa ginagawang pag-iimbestiga kaya pilit niyang sinisiraan ng integridad ng ICI? Tandaan natin ang mga miyembro po ng ICI ay puro experts at may integridad at wala nang politiko rito,” she added.

(Her patched-up stories have no value. They should not be paid attention to. The question is, is there something that she’s scared of being found out through the investigations, which is why she’s trying to destroy the integrity of the ICI? Let us remember that the members of the ICI are all experts with integrity, and none of them are politicians.) —VBL, GMA Integrated News