Singson exit signals deeper trouble

There’s more than meets the eye in the resignation of Rogelio “Babes” Singson from the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) other than the health, stress, and family issues he has cited.

On Thursday, lawmakers said the official explanation given by Singson does not jibe with the mounting evidence that the ICI is collapsing under political pressure, limited powers, and structural design flaws.

House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Egay Erice was among the first to puncture late Wednesday Singson’s narrative of a simple health-driven exit.

He said Singson had privately confided to him that the ICI had become a “punching bag” for those in power and that it lacked the independence and resources to fulfill its mandate.

“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.

He said Singson complained about the commission’s dependence on a presidential certification before it could access records, contracts, and ledgers — a system that he said rendered the ICI vulnerable to political interference.

“At a minimum, there should be congressional protection in the future,” Erice quoted Singson as saying.

He further alleged the existence of a “cabal” composed of senators and ICI insiders that would ensure that legislators would never be seriously implicated in corruption cases involving the flood control projects.

On Wednesday, the ICI referred a new set of cases to the Ombudsman, recommending further investigation and case buildup against Senator Chiz Escudero, as well as former Senator Grace Poe, citing the seriousness of the allegations against them in connection with irregularities in flood control projects.

Expendables

Singson’s allegation takes on added weight as the commission’s referrals have so far targeted former lawmakers, undersecretaries, and private contractors, while cases involving sitting and former senators remain in limbo.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. established the ICI, thus there is doubt that it would investigate the claim of former Ako Bicol Partylist Representative Elizaldy Co that Marcos himself and his cousin, former speaker Martin Romualdez, pocketed billions in kickbacks from anomalous flood control projects.

Critics pointed out the pattern supports the belief that the body was not designed to investigate the really big fish — Marcos and Romualdez — but to insulate them by sacrificing the expendable figures.

These concerns have fueled calls in the Senate to replace the ICI entirely.

Several lawmakers, led by Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, said Singson’s resignation proves that the commission is toothless and urged the passage of Senate Bill 1512, which would create an Independent People’s Commission with subpoena powers, authority to freeze assets and issue lookout orders, and the ability to cite recalcitrant officials in contempt.

“With his recent resignation, Commissioner Babes admitted that the ICI lacks powers, and even their printer had to be donated. Obviously, they need more teeth and broader powers to be able to fulfill their mandate,” Pangilinan said.

Once enacted, SB 1512 would deputize the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine National Police, and other agencies to work directly with the commission. “If you give them the powers, the chances of having sacred cows will be largely diminished,” he added.

Singson, the DPWH secretary in the Benigno Aquino III administration, had said that his role at the ICI was to walk agencies through the full project cycle and point out vulnerabilities that allowed corruption to take root.

“My role was to provide the technical aspects of the DPWH process — from project identification, implementation, approval, to the budget process for both local and ODA projects,” he said.

“We spent the whole morning explaining the process, but more importantly, the loopholes in the DPWH. We also gave our recommendations to plug those possible situations,” he said.

He recalled the reforms he initiated during his tenure at the DPWH, including the publication of the approved budget for contracts and mandatory integrity pledges from bidders, and expressed disappointment that many of these measures have been either ignored or inconsistently applied.

“If you didn’t submit that, we did not allow you (to do a project),” he said.

But Singson insisted that his health was what triggered his decision.

“Because of the stress, my 77-year-old body cannot take it anymore. I’ve been in and out of the hospital. I now take maintenance medications for my heart, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high creatinine. Name it, everything is a red flag in my body,” he said.

Probe will continue

As this developed, Malacañang brushed off concerns that his resignation would derail the ongoing investigations. “There are still many good people in the ICI and this will not be affected,” Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said.

ICI Chairperson and former Supreme Court Associate Justice Andres Reyes said Singson’s resignation will take effect on 15 December, though he may stay until the end of the year.

Singson is the second ICI official to leave, after Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong stepped down citing a conflict of interest.

Whether Singson succumbed to pressure or illness is now secondary to the question lawmakers are beginning to ask more bluntly: If the ICI was created to root out corruption, who or what is it really protecting?