Lacson urges stronger ICI, ‘whole-of-government’ action vs infra mess

With corruption in infrastructure projects rapidly expanding and implicating more government-linked firms, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Monday called for urgent reinforcement of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the adoption of a whole-of-government strategy to tackle the crisis head-on.

Lacson issued the call amid growing public alarm over substandard, incomplete, and even non-existent (ghost) infrastructure projects, which many reportedly tied to firms owned by the controversial Discaya family.

One of the most prominent concerns involves the Marikina dike, which has already shown defects less than a year into its construction.

The project was contracted to Discaya-linked companies, raising serious red flags for residents of Provident Village in Marikina City.

“At the rate the number of substandard, uncompleted and even ghost infrastructure projects being attributed to the Discaya-owned firms keeps piling up, the ICI may not be able to cope with the complexity and enormity of the problem at hand,” Lacson warned.

To address this, the veteran senator urged Congress and the Executive branch to bolster the ICI, not only with more personnel and logistical support, but also with expanded legal authority, potentially through new legislation.

“The national government, including Congress must reinforce the Commission with adequate personnel and logistical resources, even additional legal power and authority by way of legislation so they can accomplish their assigned tasks,” Lacson pointed out.

The ICI, currently under mounting pressure, reported Monday that of the 29,800 flood control projects it has been inspecting from 2016 to 2024, 421 were initially found to be ghost projects— either never built or their implementation cannot be verified.

The breakdown includes 261 projects in Luzon, 109 in the Visayas, and 51 in Mindanao.

ICI Executive Director Brian Keith Hosaka said they aim to refer 15 to 20 of these cases to the Office of the Ombudsman within the next month, signaling a growing crackdown.

Lacson, whose Senate privilege speeches in August and September exposed layers of corruption in flood control spending, emphasized the need for swift and coordinated action to bring perpetrators to justice, whether they are contractors, public officials, or legislators.

“It goes without saying, if we really intend to prosecute, convict, and recover their loot, including their cohorts in Congress and the Department of Public Works and Highways and other implementing agencies similarly responsible for these unprecedented misuse and abuse of public funds, a whole-of-government approach is extremely necessary, not later, but now,” he said.

Lacson further stressed that without immediate, decisive action, public confidence in infrastructure development and government transparency may further erode.