Daily TribuneThe Office of the President acting on the recommendation of the Department of Budget and Management, has ordered the release of P41,481,000 as the the Independent Commission’s operating budget chargeable to the 2025 contingents fund,” Atty. Hosaka said.
courtesy of PNA
The Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) has secured more than P41 million in funding for its operations in 2025, its executive director said Wednesday.
According to ICI Executive Director Atty. Brian Hosaka, the budget will come from the 2025 contingent fund.
“The Office of the President, acting on the recommendation of the Department of Budget and Management, has ordered the release of P41,481,000 as the Independent Commission’s operating budget chargeable to the 2025 contingent fund,” Hosaka said.
The funding will cover operating expenses and capital outlay, including salaries of personnel, to improve the efficiency of the agency, which was created in September to investigate infrastructure anomalies, particularly in flood control projects.
“These approvals will definitely enable the commission to now efficiently and effectively carry out its mandates and core functions under Executive Order 94,” Hosaka said.
He added that the approved budget will allow for the creation of 172 contractual positions. The new roles will include staff for the legal department, special investigation office, financial office, administrative support, and technical positions.
“Our current lawyers, most of them are detailed to us by the government. But with this staffing pattern being approved by now, and the budget hopefully to be downloaded soon to the commission, we would be able to accommodate our organic staff already which would be composed of lawyers, accountants and engineers as well,” he said.
Hosaka noted that the approval of the staffing pattern and funding is just the initial phase, and hiring will proceed once the funds are released.
“Once we get them, we get to hire them, that’s when we can speed things up. It won’t be on the spot since we won’t immediately get the staffing pattern or fill up our complements,” he said. “It would take a bit of time again but the important thing is that we have the approved staffing pattern already and the budget soon.”
The ICI has not yet submitted a proposal for its 2026 budget, and Hosaka said the agency is working to establish its own budget office to handle the matter.
