BBM names ex-SC justice as ICI chair

After days of speculation, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday finally named former Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes Jr. as chair of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI).

Reyes will head the fact-finding body tasked to uncover anomalies in flood control and other infrastructure projects. Marcos vouched for him, citing his “very good record of honesty and fairness” and his ability to “find justice for those who have been victimized.”

The President said he left his meeting with Reyes on Sunday “encouraged” about the commission’s work.

“In my meetings with Justice Andy yesterday he said, ‘We have to make it nothing less than a turning point in the conduct of governance in the Philippines. We have to make a change, and it is a fundamental change in the way that we do business,’” Marcos said.

He stressed the ICI will operate independently and without direct instructions from Malacañang.

“They have decided to meet today to make organizational decisions — how to set up the secretariat, who to bring in, where to hold office, even what forms to use,” Marcos said. “I want to stress here the independent nature of this commission. We will not interfere in their work.”

Marcos added that the commission plans to meet daily, whether privately or publicly, and that he is open to their recommendations on fixing bidding and procurement systems to prevent a repeat of the flood control mess.

10-year scope

Under Executive Order No. 94, the ICI will review projects built in the past decade, in line with the Commission on Audit’s (CoA) 10-year record-keeping policy.

“CoA only keeps records for 10 years, so that’s where we’ll start,” Marcos said. “But more importantly, we need to understand how we got here — why bidding and awarding ended up this way, how the system evolved, and what must change to make sure the people’s money is spent properly.”

He recalled that during his time in local government, infrastructure projects were handled differently.

“We need to make this an inflection point in governance — so that every peso is spent wisely for the benefit of the people and the economy, especially those in danger-prone areas,” he said.