Palace: Flood control probe to continue even with ICI closure

The government will continue its inquiries into anomalous flood control projects even if the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) is concluding its operations by the end of the month, Malacañang said on Sunday.

Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro made the remarks a few days after ICI chair Andres Reyes Jr. said the fact-finding body will be winding down its operations by March 31.

In a message to reporters, Castro said the ICI has already turned over its report on the flood control scandal to the Ombudsman for further investigation.

“The mandate to pursue those responsible will continue. The conclusion of ICI does not signal the end of the inquiry on the flood control mess,” she said.

Castro pointed out that the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are “still conducting preliminary investigations on the complaints submitted or recommended to be filed.”

“Furthermore, they have the power to conduct more investigations motu proprio,” she added.

In a statement on Friday, Reyes said the ICI will be operational until March 31 as it has already fulfilled its mandate of investigating alleged anomalies in flood control projects.

The ICI, he added, was able to submit nine referrals covering 65 individuals to the Ombudsman and convened technical working group (TWG) meetings of 20 agencies for asset recovery.

Last week, the ICI turned over two truckloads worth of documents on the flood control mess to the Ombudsman.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. created the ICI in September 2025 after citing the corruption in flood control projects in his State of the Nation Address in July.

The ICI was then composed of Reyes and two commissioners – Rogelio “Babes” Singson and Rossana Fajardo – who resigned in December last year.

Earlier this year, the ICI then said it would be unable to resume its official operations as a collegial body with the resignation of the two commissioners.

A few weeks later, ICI special adviser and retired police general Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said the body has resumed its probe even as it fate remains in limbo. Azurin added that it is up to Marcos to extend or terminate the ICI’s mandate.

In mid-January, Marcos said the work of the independent fact-finding body is about to be finished since it has already investigated what needs to be probed in the flood control scandal.

In a press conference in New York last week, the President the ICI is writing a final report and that the body itself “has made a determination that much of their work has already been done” and that “their brief has already been fulfilled.” — JMA, GMA Integrated News