House Infrastructure Committee (infra comm) Chairman Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon has some choice words for Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong following the latter's acrimonious exit from the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

"It is the height of hypocrisy for a public official who styles himself as a champion of transparency, accountability, and good governance to reject public scrutiny of projects within his own local government," Ridon said in a statement Thursday, Oct. 2.

Magalong recently resigned as the special adviser to the Palace-created ICI. This, after President Marcos ordered his legal team to study Magalong's to the independent body over concerns of conflict of interest.

The issue was raised after Magalong’s name was linked to an alleged anomalous tennis court project im Burnham Park that was made by the Discaya-owned St. Gerrard Construction.

Magalong has slammed this accusation, calling it "below the belt".

"Magalong has only himself to blame for his current woes in the [ICI]," said the sharp-tongued Ridon.

"The reason for scrutiny of a particular project is not marginal—it is highly relevant, as it involves one of the central personalities in flood control corruption: the Discayas and one of their key firms," the infra comm chairman said, referring to contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya.

"This directly tests Mayor Magalong’s integrity and commitment to transparency, as he himself, as the city’s Head of Procuring Entity, has engaged a contractor linked to ghost and substandard projects," Ridon noted.

"To be clear, there is no allegation at this point that the ₱110-million Baguio City tennis court project is tainted with corruption, or that city officials received kickbacks from the Discayas. There is, however, a legitimate allegation that the project may be substandard—giving the public every reason to ask questions," he said.

"And more importantly, even the loudest champions of good governance should never reject scrutiny of their own projects," he underscored.

Ridon also raised his eyebrow over Magalong's admission that the city had only been dealing with a subcontractor.

The party-list congressman claimed this was "precisely the type of anomalous arrangement being flagged in both House and Senate panels as indicative of substandard and questionable projects".

The infra comm held two public hearings on the matter before it turned over its findings to the ICI.

The lawyer-solon said it was also "most telling" that Magalong kept quiet about the Discayas' project in Baguio over a month after the Chief Executive himself flagged the controversial contractors.

"The first news report on the tennis court project came out on 20 September 2025. Yet as early as 11 August 2025, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had publicly disclosed the involvement of the Discayas and other flood control contractors. On 2 September 2025, the Discayas themselves admitted control over multiple contracting firms, including St. Gerrard Construction

"For more than a month—from the President’s disclosure until the news article’s publication—Mayor Magalong said nothing about this project, all while continuing to speak publicly against corruption," Ridon said.

"This failure to disclose and his continuing rejection of scrutiny do not speak well of his actual commitment to transparency, accountability, and good governance—particularly when it comes to his own affairs," then solon pointed out.

The ICI was formed to look into the flood control projects corruption scandal, which involved contractors, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials, and lawmakers.