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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Tiangco renews push for bill creating stronger ICI

Tiangco renews push for bill creating stronger ICI

Published Dec 4, 2025 03:52 pm

At A Glance

  • Navotas City lone district Rep. Toby Tiangco has renewed on Thursday, Dec. 4 his push for the passage of the bill creating the Independent Commission Against Infrastructure Corruption (ICAIC)--which for all intents and purposes in an upgraded version of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).
Navotas City lone district Rep. Toby Tiangco (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Navotas City lone district Rep. Toby Tiangco (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


Navotas City lone district Rep. Toby Tiangco has renewed on Thursday, Dec. 4 his push for the passage of the bill creating the Independent Commission Against Infrastructure Corruption (ICAIC)--which for all intents and purposes in an upgraded version of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).
This, as the ICI suffered what many House of Representatives members have called a major setback with the resignation of commissioner Rogelio "Babes" Singson, who echoed the need for a "stronger" commission.
According to Tiangco, his House Bill (HB) No. 5699 will help make ICI investigations and the filing of appropriate cases faster and more effective.
Under the proposal, the ICI will be transformed into the ICAIC and will be granted the authority to file cases, issue subpoenas and hold departure orders, and conduct broader investigations.
"Ito ay tutulong sa Ombudsman at DOJ na mapabilis natin ang proseso because meron tayong responsibilidad sa mamamayang Pilipino na makita kaagad na seryoso dito sa imbestigasyon, dahil ito yung pinakamalaking corruption scandal sa history ng ating bansa," Tiangco said.
(This will help the Ombudsman and the DOJ to speed up the process because we have a responsibility to the Filipino people to immediately show that we are serious about this investigation, since this is the biggest corruption scandal in the history of our country.)
Created via President Marcos' Executive Order (EO) No.94, the ICI has been holding hearings since mid-September in a bid to exact accountability on persons and entities involved in anomalous and "ghost" flood mitigation projects.
Compouding the public's outrage over the massive corruption controversy is the apparent selective memory of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo in his testimonies before the Senate. The DPWH is the primary agency behind the anomalous projects.
Bernardo’s inconsistent testimonies have prompted the ICI to reevaluate the cases they plan to file. Former Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin even called Bernardo unreliable because the evidence he presented consists mostly of hearsay or gossip.
The ex-DPWH official had repeatedly failed to attend ICI hearings due to “medical reasons", yet appeared well whenever he faced the Senate.
Some political observers believe that Bernardo is merely being used to discredit certain individuals rather than reveal the truth, in exchange for placement under the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP).
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