By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
On the heels of consecutive resignations made by former Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson and SGV & Co. Country Managing Partner Rossana Fajardo from their posts as ICI commissioners in December 2025, Malacañang clarified that the flood control probe body would still carry on with its mandate.
This, as Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro declared, is that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has not issued any mandate or directive to dissolve the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).
Castro told the media on Tuesday, “Sa ngayon, wala pong anumang pinag-uutos pa ang Pangulo kung hindi ipagpatuloy pa rin ang kanilang mandato, ipagpatuloy pa rin ang kanilang pag-iimbestiga at maging fact-finding committee pa rin po sila.
Kung sila po ay susulat sa Pangulo, hintayin po natin ang kanilang panawagan sa Pangulo para po masagot naman ito ng Pangulo.”
The loss of the two commissioners leaves ICI Chairperson Andres Reyes Jr. as the lone original appointee of the President left in the flood control probe body, with vacancies that are yet to be filled as of press time.
On September 26, 2025, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong stepped down from his role as ICI special adviser, with his successor Rodolfo Azurin Jr. stepping up in the handling of high-profile cases on flood control anomalies unearthed following the President’s revelations in July.
As of writing, while some notable figures tagged in the flood control mess were already put behind bars or have outstanding warrants of arrest, the so-called ‘larger fish’ are yet to be brought to justice despite the Commission’s best efforts.
Originally established by virtue of Executive Order No. 94 s. 2025 inked by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on September 11, 2025, ICI was mandated to conduct a thorough and transparent review of various flood control projects and other government public works, untainted by politics or other mischievous acts in governance.
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