Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste raised concerns over the dissolution of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) effective Tuesday, noting that its final report on the anomalous government flood control projects has not been released to the public.

Leviste, who went to the ICI office in Taguig City on Tuesday, said the commission had submitted its report to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has yet to make the findings public.

“The ICI’s final report will not be released on its last day. I thank ICI Chairman Andy Reyes and the other members for sharing their sentiments on this final day. The ICI asked that some of their statements not be quoted in the media, and they will no longer face the press as before,” Leviste wrote on his official Facebook page

“The final report was not released because of fears that they could be targeted if the accountability for the corruption in the DPWH is identified,” he added.

Leviste said the ICI’s employees will be jobless starting 1 April, following the commission’s closure on 31 March.

“We came here to get a copy of the report because the public has a right to know. Second, the employees will lose their jobs, so we are here to see who among them is seeking work that we can help,” he said in Filipino.

The lawmaker noted that the ICI lacked critical powers and resources during its investigation.

“The ICI was not given contempt powers or immunity, and Congress did not pass a law to establish an Independent People’s Commission that could continue its work. Because of these shortcomings, the Final Report cannot identify the masterminds behind the DPWH corruption. Yet it remains crucial to release it, along with the transcripts of all ICI hearings,” he said.

Leviste said the flood control issue was “obviously silenced.”

Quoting ICI employees, he said: “This quiet exit, absent any formal executive order from Malacañang, raises urgent concerns about the future of the investigation into the corruption in flood control projects. The ICI was established to probe anomalies in infrastructure spending, particularly flood control initiatives that directly affect the safety of millions of Filipinos. Its closure, without transparency or due process, effectively halts the inquiries into alleged overpricing, ghost projects, and kickbacks — issues that had long plagued public works.”

“The manner of its closure —employees told to leave quietly, without a clear directive — undermines confidence in government commitments to reform. This is not just the end of a commission, it is the silencing of accountability,” he said.

Palace responds

In response, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the investigations into the flood control projects were ongoing, suggesting that the agencies involved may simply be “overwhelmed” by the volume of documents submitted by the ICI.

“Nobody is resting when it comes to the investigations into the flood control projects. This is simply a smear campaign against the government. The President has not stopped holding the people involved accountable,” Castro said.

She defended the ICI, describing it as a fact-finding committee whose work has been completed. She noted that the commission’s reports had been handed over to the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DoJ) for further investigation.

“In reality, it looks like the DoJ and Ombudsman are overwhelmed by the number of cases they seek to file,” she added.