MANILA — Former Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson resigned as one of the commissioners of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI).
ICI chairperson Andres Reyes Jr. made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Singson downplayed talk that he resigned, saying he is merely wrapping up technical work as the body enters a phase requiring mostly legal expertise — a clarification that comes just as the commission faces mounting constitutional challenges before the Supreme Court.
Negros Oriental’s Cong. Jacinto “Jing” Paras recently publicly claimed the former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) chief had quit the ICI effective December out of frustration with its structure and the way it was handling its probe into alleged multibillion-peso flood control anomalies.
Singson initially refuted any suggestion that he had walked away.
“Wala. Sinabi ko winding up na ako dahil mga lawyers na ang kailangan nila. Nasa ICI hearing ako,” he said, explaining that the remaining tasks before the commission are now legal in nature.
But Paras insisted that Singson personally told him he had already tendered his resignation.
“I bumped into Babes Singson. He told me that he already tendered his resignation effective December because hindi niya nagugustuhan ‘yung ICI,” Paras said in an interview.
“He told me in front of a former congressman. We bumped into a restaurant in Rockwell. Pati si Babes Singson does not want the ICI,” he added.
The issue surfaced at a delicate moment for the ICI, which is now the subject of two petitions before the Supreme Court questioning its constitutionality and whether its investigative mandate trespasses on the functions of the Office of the Ombudsman.
Paras — himself a petitioner — argued that the ICI lacks real prosecutorial teeth despite its P41-million budget.
“They’re spending P41 million. And what are they doing? They’re just recommending… the ICI does not have the wherewithal to come up with a case build-up,” he said.
A separate petition, filed by teacher John Barry Tayam, challenges the ICI’s authority to investigate a 10-year period that heavily covers the Duterte administration while only partially including the term of the late President Benigno Aquino III.
Petitioners have urged the High Court to act swiftly, noting that the commission has already begun filing cases against politicians and contractors allegedly implicated in the flood control controversy./PN
