Senator JV pushes ICI takeover of probe

The Senate should consider turning over its investigation into the alleged anomalies in flood control projects to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), Senator JV Ejercito said Tuesday, citing a conflict of interest as several senators have been linked to the controversy.

“I personally told SP (Senate President Vicente) Sotto that it would be a good idea to wind it up because it is very awkward that we are investigating ourselves,” Ejercito said in Filipino in a radio interview.

“Our colleagues are involved, those in the House are also involved. It would be better to turn this over to the ICI,” he added.

Ejercito also warned that the focus was shifting away from those who originally orchestrated the allegedly anomalous schemes.

“I feel sad about the direction. Because it seems like the real culprits in the DPWH, in the House, they [Zaldy Co] started it. It wasn’t in the Senate,” he said.

“It seems the real culprits are being covered up,” he added.

On budget insertions

Asked about the reported P100 billion in insertions made by the 19th Congress in the proposed 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), Ejercito defended the practice, saying it had only become controversial in light of the flood control probe.

“I think that all (lawmakers),” he said, when asked who made insertions in the budget.

“Because insertions are not that bad. It’s just that they’ve become worse now. The so-called insertions, we introduce those amendments during the budget hearing, when the agency that we’re reviewing [has a budget shortfall],” he explained.

“Not all amendments are tainted as long as there is no post-enactment intervention,” he pointed out.

He admitted that the budget insertions have been abused, leading to ghost and substandard projects.

“I admit that we introduce amendments, but what I do is, when they come to us, we endorse them to the proper agency. The important thing is that we do not have post-enactment intervention,” he said.

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Panfilo Lacson has revealed that “almost all” the senators in the 19th Congress inserted at least P100 billion into the 2025 budget. He said documents showed these were individual insertions, with funds marked for later release.