By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
At a Palace press briefing on Monday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. formally announced the appointment of retired Supreme Court (SC) Justice Andres Reyes Jr. as the chairperson of the newly created Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), by virtue of Executive Order No. 94 signed by Marcos on Sept. 11.
The Chief Executive cited Reyes’ track record as a jurist which made him the top choice as the leader of the independent body.
“He has a very, very good record of honesty and fairness and a good record of being able to find justice for those who have been victimized,” the President said.
“He had a very, very detailed report already. He’s been working on this for a while so marami siyang maiko-contribute,” he added.
This latest development comes on the heels of an earlier announcement of some ICI members, which includes former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio Singson and SGV & Co. Country Managing Partner Rossana Fajardo.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong meanwhile is appointed as the independent body’s special adviser.
President Marcos concluded his remarks by noting the urgency of the initial probe that will be undertaken by the ICI to get to the bottom of alleged corruption behind ‘ghost’ and anomalous flood control projects, among other issues that were unearthed in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing and those reported in the Sumbong sa Pangulo website.
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