Ombudsman Remulla: ICI may only have a month or two left 

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Friday said that the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) may only have a month or two left before it ceases its probe and turns all their findings on alleged anomalous flood control projects to his office. 

"Tingin ko mga isa, dalawang buwan na lang 'yan at maari nang i-turnover sa amin ang kanilang mga trinabaho," Remulla said in an interview on Unang Balita.

(I think it only has a month or two. Then they can turn over all their work to us.)

"'Yun ang direksyon niyan, kasi hindi naman forever ang ICI at meron namang batas na nag-create ng Office of the Ombudsman na ngayon naman ay very active kami," he added. 

(That's the direction of it, because the ICI is not forever, and there is a law that created the Office of the Ombudsman, which we are now very active in.)

The ICI, meanwhile, said it will continue until it has "completed its mandate"

"Ang komisyon ay mananatili at magpapatuloy ng kanyang tungkulin hanggang makumpleto nito ang mandato o ma-dissolve ng Presidente. Ito ang nakalagay sa Executive Order na nag buo ng ICI," Spokesperson Brian Hosaka told GMA Integrated News in response to Remulla's statement. 

(The commission will remain in place and will continue its duties until it completes its mandate or is dissolved by the President. This is stated in the Executive Order that created the ICI.)

Remulla's statement comes a day after Rogelio "Babes" Singson explained his decision to resign from the ICI—a move that did not come as a surprise to the Ombudsman.

"Matagal na niyang sinabi sa'kin 'yan na hanggang December lang talaga ang kanyang pakay na magtagal, sapagka't madami din siyang ibang inaasikasong persona. At tsaka nakakapod talaga ang trabaho niyan," said Remulla.

(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.) 

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order 94 in September, which created the ICI as a non-partisan fact-finding body that would investigate irregularities in flood control projects and infrastructure projects in the last 10 years.

Referrals, Christmas in jail

On Wednesday, the ICI submitted a referral against former senator Bong Revilla Jr. and others to the Office of the Ombudsman over anomalous flood control projects.

The ICI has also recommended to the Ombudsman to conduct further investigation on the alleged involvement of Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, former senator Nancy Binay, former Senate finance chairperson Grace Poe, and Senator and former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Mark Villar.

Revilla has denied allegations that he received kickbacks from the government flood control projects. Poe, meanwhile, said the recommendation to further investigate her only proved that Bernardo's allegations were false and lacked basis. For his part, Villar said the allegations against him are “baseless and unsupported by any evidence.” 

Meanwhile, the Ombudsman doubled down on the government's vow that there will be personalities involved in the flood control mess that spend Christmas in jail.

"Meron, meron talaga magpapasko sa kulungan kasi nga yun talaga ang nakikita namin sa aming mga imbestigasyon na ginagawa sa office of the Ombudsman. Tsaka sa DOJ, ang DOJ po ay maraming rin po silang kasong tinatapos at mafifile na po ang mga kaso nila," he said. 

(There are, there are indeed people who will spend Christmas in jail because that is exactly what we see in our investigations being conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman. The DOJ is also finishing up and they will file cases soon.) —VAL, GMA Integrated News