Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) chairman, retired Supreme Court (SC) associate justice Andres Reyes Jr. has described Commissioner Rossana Fajardo's resignation as having come "at a natural point", as it appeared that the body's mandate in relation to the anomalous flood control projects is almost fulfilled.

Issuing his clarification in light of Fajardo's resignation on Friday, Dec. 26, Reyes--the last remaining commissioner following the earlier departure of Babes Singson--cited the list of achievements that ICI has had in the past three months.

These included the eight referral cases that it already filed before the Ombudsman, the freezing of about P20.3 billion worth of assets, and the filing of three cases that led to the arrest of 16 individuals.

"Commissioner Fajardo’s resignation comes at a natural point in the Commission’s work," Reyes said, noting that "the ICI was created with a clear, time-bound mandate: to gather evidence, establish facts, and propose corrective measures."

​Reyes also made several recommendations to reform the system and ensure that infrastructure irregularities do not happen again. These include:

1. The automatic furnishing to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) of all Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) contracts and transactions exceeding P30 million to expose tax evasion, underdeclaration, and illicit enrichment by contractors;

2. The opening of the national budget process to full public scrutiny, especially in bicameral conference committees, by mandating the disclosure of proponents, insertions, amendments, and minutes for all major infrastructure and flood-control items;

3. A binding inter-agency coordination among the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Commission on Audit (COA), DPWH, Department of Justice (DOJ), BUreau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to enable real-time sharing of records and the conduct of parallel criminal, administrative, and financial investigations;

4. The establishment an inter-agency Technical Working Group (TWG)to relentlessly pursue restitution and recovery of public funds lost through anomalous flood-control and infrastructure projects;

5. Recommending the immediate suspension of payments for projects under serious review until their physical existence, progress, and compliance are independently verified;

6. The establishment of a centralized national registry and blacklisting system for contractors to permanently bar repeat offenders involved in ghost projects, fraud, and substandard works;

7. The institutionalization of the Ombudsman of stricter conflict- of-interest screening, including mandatory cross-checking of Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) with corporate and procurement records, to promptly detect and prosecute concealed financial interests;

8. The strengthening of whistleblower protection and independent reporting mechanisms, including secure hotlines and legal support, to encourage insiders to come forward without fear;

9. Public live-streaming of the Commission's investigative hearings, to ensure transparency, deter intimidation, and restore public trust; and

10. The institutionalization of a permanent, independent fact-finding body on large-scale infrastructure corruption, through the proposed Independent People’s Commission and Independent Commission Against Infrastructure Corruption, to carry forward this work beyond the life of the ICI.

With him as the only commissioner left, Reyes said ICI will just "now focus on finalizing the remaining items that will be submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman​".

​That will be done "in order to strengthen and​ add to the growing number of cases that will eventually be filed with the courts, and hold those​ involved accountable​". according to Reyes.