Palace: DOJ, Ombudsman 'overwhelmed' by cases in anomalous flood control projects

Malacañang on Tuesday said the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are ''overwhelmed'' in filing cases against individuals involved in anomalous flood control projects.

At a press conference, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro was asked for reaction that some individuals could be underwhelmed or disappointed because no ''big fish'' is jailed yet amid anomalous flood control projects and that the creation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) could have raised the public's expectations of the administration.

''Marami na po silang naisumite sa DOJ, marami na po silang naisumite sa Ombudsman. So, ang ibig pong sabihin niyan, hindi po natulog, nagpahinga, hindi nag-relax ang ICI. Ngayon po lahat po ng kanilang nairekomenda, nakasuhan o for further investigation nasa kamay na po iyan ng DOJ at ng Ombudsman,'' Castro said.

''Sa totoo lamang po mukhang overwhelmed po ang Ombudsman at ang DOJ sa dami po ng mga kasong pinaparekomendang sampahan dito patungkol sa flood control project. So, hindi po masasabing iyon lang ang naging trabaho ng ICI. Ang masasabi po natin, iyon ang naging trabaho ng ICI,'' she added.

Castro guaranteed that President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. is determined to hold accountable those individuals involved in corruption.

The ICI is operational until March 31, Chairperson Andres Reyes Jr. said. He also said the ICI already fulfilled its mandate of investigating the alleged anomalous flood control projects.

Reyes said that while the ICI only functioned as a collegial body for 90 days, it was able to submit nine referrals covering 65 individuals to the Ombudsman, as well as convened Techinical Working Group including 20 agencies for Asset Recovery.

Marcos had created the ICI through Executive Order No. 94 in September last year as a non-partisan fact-finding body tasked to investigate alleged irregularities in flood control and other infrastructure projects over the past ten years. — BAP, GMA News