The Sumbong sa Pangulo website has received 16,275 complaints about infrastructure projects. All of these will be forwarded to the newly established Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which was created to investigate anomalies in flood control projects.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. launched the website in August to give the public a voice in reporting non-functioning projects or ghost projects. The ICI, headed by former Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes Jr., will investigate projects from the past 10 years that may be tainted with corruption.
Also included in the ICI are former DPWH secretary Rogelio Singson, SGV's Rossana Fajardo, and Mayor Benjamin Magalong as special advisers. Meanwhile, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro and Vice President Sara Duterte had an exchange of words after the vice president criticized the President's action.
For former senator Richard Gordon, the ICI is just another bureaucracy. He said that agencies like the DOJ, NBI, COA and PNP are sufficient but are just not functioning properly. He urged the government to immediately file a case, freeze the bank accounts, and confiscate the assets of those involved, including the dismissed Bulacan engineer Henry Alcantara.
Gordon also emphasized the need for a new Ombudsman with integrity and courage to ensure that justice is achieved, instead of creating new ad hoc commissions.
