Resigned Independent Commission for Infrastructure Commissioner (ICI) Babes Singson has expressed his frustration over the body being used as a punching bag by those who wield power.

According to House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Egay Erice, the former Public Works and Highways secretary was deeply disappointed that the ICI was turned into a cover for Malacañang, receiving no support from the government.

“It’s dead. The ICI is already dead. I received text messages from former secretary Singson. He was disappointed,” Erice said in a television interview.

Singson, who is leaving ICI on 15 December, expressed concern for his family’s safety and privacy as he served on the body. 

“As a minimum, there should be congressional protection in the future,” Erice quoted the resigned official as saying.

The lack of support stems from the ICI’s limited powers, as it needs a certification from the President before it can access government records, ledgers and contracts.

Erice also revealed the existence of a cabal of senators and the ICI to ensure that the legislators would be cleared of corruption allegations by the body.

Thus far, only a former legislator and several underlings and small fry, plus some contractors, have been recommended to the Ombudsman for prosecution, while the ICI has sought further investigations into incumbent and former senators.

The House leader said he would have risen on a question of privilege regarding the status of the ICI investigations and Singson’s sentiment, but the latter’s resignation overtook the plan.

Erice said he sensed Singson’s frustration over the ICI’s dependence on the Office of the President.

“It is not independent. It was created by and funded by the President. The President cannot legislate,” he noted.

It is not truly independent without a bill approving its institution; otherwise “it will just be a body” under the control of powerful forces.

Singson, in a briefing, said the bill creating the Independent People’s Commission would have to be enacted to give the ICI more teeth and independence to undertake its task of cleaning up the government.

The body needs more personnel, but its limited funds have made it impossible to hire more people.

He said the amount of work and the enormous pressure on the ICI had taken a toll on his health.

There is a proposal to appoint more commissioners from the private sector and from civil society groups to make the body credible.

Erice indicated that the ICI, with its current structure, is dead, having lost its credibility.

Since its creation, the ICI has been criticized as a body intended to whitewash investigations, a claim the frustrated Singson affirmed.

A view from the inside is necessary since the public is not getting a full appreciation of the body’s proceedings.

While it recently allowed the livestreaming of proceedings, several resource persons and those implicated in the flood control scandal opted for an executive session to give their testimony behind closed doors.

The ICI has been a farce from the start, and now it is dead — as it should be.