President Marcos has named retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr. as chair of the newly created Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which will probe corruption and irregularities in flood control and related government projects.

In a press conference in Malacañan on Monday morning, Sept. 15, Marcos said Reyes’ experience in the judiciary made him a natural choice to head the body.

“What we needed was somebody like Justice Andy Reyes because he is a former justice. He will know how to conduct those hearings, if they are procedurally correct,” he said.

“He has been a… for a very, very long time with a very good record of honesty and fairness, and a good record of being able to find justice for those who have been victimized,” he added.

Reyes is the third and final member of the ICI, following the announcement of former Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson and SGV & Co. Country Managing Partner Rossana Fajardo as part of the three-person panel. Baguio City Benjamin Magalong was tapped as special adviser and investigator for the ICI.

According to the President, the commission will move without interference from government agencies.

“It will be completely independent. That is why we have taken great pains [to ensure] that independence is respected, recognized, and observed,” he said.

“This commission can say they have no ties to any part of government,” he added.

The President added that the ICI members themselves agreed on the urgency of their task.

“I’m very encouraged because all of them are in agreement that we have to move very quickly, and we have to get something done as soon as possible,” Marcos said.

According to the President, Reyes underscored the need for reforms in government infrastructure management and how investigations are held.

“Sabi niya, we have to make the change, and it is a fundamental change in the way we do business,” he recounted.

The ICI was created under Executive Order No. 94 following reports of irregularities and misuse of funds in flood control projects.

“All of them are personalities out of government, aside from Mayor Benjie Magalong,” he said.

Born on May 11, 1950, Reyes is a third-generation justice in his family. His father is the late Justice Andres Reyes Sr., former Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals (CA), while his grandfather was Alex Reyes Sr., a CA justice, and later of the Supreme Court.

He holds an economics degree from St. Mary’s College of California, a law degree from Ateneo de Manila University, and a master’s degree in public administration from the Philippine Women’s University. He completed his early education at La Salle Green Hills.

A career judicial officer, Andres was a trial judge from 1987 until 1999, when he was appointed Associate Justice of the CA. In February 2010, he was appointed Presiding Justice of the same court.

Before attaining senior status in the CA, he taught at the Arellano Law School and the College of Law of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. He had served as an examiner for Labor Laws in the 2012 Bar examinations. He was appointed by former president Rodrigo Duterte to the Supreme Court of the Philippines on July 13, 2017, and held that position until he retired in May 2020.

During his interviews with the Judicial and Bar Council, Reyes emphasized his refusal to grant favors to business associates while in office, saying, “It’s not my thing to really accommodate people for favors in the court.”

Reyes was part of the Supreme Court majority that voted to grant the quo warranto petition that led to the removal of former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno in 2018. He also raised concerns during oral arguments on maritime enforcement, citing the limits of government resources in protecting areas such as Ayungin Shoal.