ICI prioritizing 80 of 421 flood control projects under probe —Azurin

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) is now prioritizing 80 of the initial 421 flood control projects under probe for corruption, its special adviser Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said Wednesday. 

“Out of the 421, we are prioritizing the 80 projects na ang involved diyan are the 15 or 18 na contractors na minention ni [President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.],” Azurin said in an ambush interview before an ICI meeting at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Azurin said the ICI is now gathering bid documents through the help of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which, he noted, have subpoena power. 

“So, we need to study 'yung bid documents. Ibabangga namin 'yan sa actual na implementation,” he said.

(So, we need to study the bid documents. We will compare that with the actual implementation.)

Meanwhile, Azurin said the ICI is set to inspect the flood control projects in Cebu province after many areas there were submerged during the onslaught of Tropical Cyclone Tino.

“The other week, nasa Davao kami. So this week, we tend to go sa Ilocos Region naman. And then hopefully by Sunday, nasa Cebu kami. So, 'yun 'yung mga ongoing activities ng ICI,” Azurin said.

(The other week, we were in Davao. So this week, we tend to go to the Ilocos Region. And then hopefully by Sunday, we will be in Cebu. So, those are the ongoing activities of ICI.)

“Sa Central Cebu tayo, sa Cebu City and Mandaue. Basta 'yung mga badly affected...Titignan natin kung bakit ganun 'yung nangyari despite sa napakalaki ng funding na dinala doon. Di ba, sabi nga ni Governor, P26 billion plus?” he added.

(We will be in Central Cebu, in Cebu City and Mandaue. Just the ones that were badly affected. We will see why that happened despite the huge funding there. Didn’t the Governor say P26 billion plus?) —AOL, GMA Integrated News