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‘I have completed the work I set out to accomplish’
MANILA, Philippines — Commissioner Rossana Fajardo has resigned from the Independent Commission for Infrastructure effective Dec. 31, leaving its chairman as the lone ICI commissioner threshing out massive flood control anomalies.
Fajardo, the country managing partner at Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co., tendered her courtesy resignation with the belief that she had already performed her duties, just three months since President Marcos appointed her to the job.
“Throughout my tenure, I have developed comprehensive approaches for evidence gathering, prepared detailed work plans and supervised volunteer efforts in investigations. My contributions have led to recommendations aimed at improving government procurement and budgeting processes related to infrastructure projects,” Fajardo said in a statement on Friday.
“I have completed the work I set out to accomplish when I was appointed, ensuring that the foundational goals of the commission have been met,” she stressed.
Fajardo said she already sees the sunset for the ICI, with its work handed over to agencies with more teeth than the fact-finding body or taken over by a permanent commission established by law.
“I believe that the investigative and prosecutorial responsibilities will now transition to other agencies, such as the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman, which are better positioned to ensure accountability for contractors and government officials,” she said.
“Additionally, with the recent prioritization of bills for the creation of the Independent Commission Against Infrastructure Corruption and the Independent People’s Commission, a permanent commission with enhanced powers will be more effective in supporting the ombudsman’s office in prosecuting parties involved in irregular government infrastructure projects,” she added.
Fajardo expressed gratitude for being part of a “collective mission” that “prioritizes the welfare of our citizens” together with “individuals who are deeply committed to transparency and accountability.”
The ICI has been rocked by three abrupt resignations since Marcos created it in September through Executive Order 94.
Just two weeks into its operations, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong stepped down after Malacañang said his job was limited to acting as special adviser and not as investigator, as the Palace had originally announced in the official statement about his appointment.
Magalong said he must have hit too close to home in conducting his investigation. He declined to provide specifics, as demanded by Malacañang.
On Dec. 15, former public works chief Rogelio Singson also quit as commissioner due to health concerns brought about by the stress of investigating thousands of irregular government projects.
Magalong had previously indicated that Fajardo would be the next official heading for the exit, saying in an interview with “Storycon” on One News that the outgoing commissioner has a lot of work piled up in her day job.
Magalong said when the commission was only starting, the commissioners had the impression that their stint would be short.
“They only know that their job will be finished within three to four months,” the former ICI special adviser said. “I can’t tell them, however, that it won’t be over; it will transcend administrations because of the bulk of the cases of anomalous projects.”
Fajardo has been media-shy throughout her three-month stint, only seen during the ICI’s public engagements.
Palace thanks Fajardo
The Marcos administration recognized the crucial role played by commissioner Fajardo in the ICI, saying she has completed her specific task.
“Ms. Fajardo was brought in for a clear financial forensic purpose – to closely review the money linked to the projects under investigation and help trace where public funds went,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Dave Gomez said in a statement on Friday.
“That work is now finished. Her full findings will form part of the ICI’s recommendations to the ombudsman and will also be turned over to the proper government offices, including the Commission on Audit, so the process can move forward,” Gomez said.
Fajardo’s role was “always meant to be temporary and focused only on this mandate,” Gomez added.
“The President thanks Ms. Fajardo for her service and for helping ensure that public funds are properly accounted for. This forms part of the broader effort to make the government more honest, more transparent and more responsive to the needs of the people,” he said.
In a separate statement, PCO Undersecretary Claire Castro also acknowledged Fajardo’s significant contribution to the independent commission.
“The administration recognized the crucial role played by ICI Commissioner Rossana Fajardo in gathering, studying and assessing important evidence to hold those involved in anomalous flood control projects accountable,” Castro said. “She has already accomplished her tasks based on her mandate.”
Fajardo’s resignation leaves the commission with just three officials: chairman Andres Reyes Jr., special adviser Rodolfo Azurin Jr. and executive director Brian Keith Hosaka.
Reyes and Hosaka have both previously said the ICI was good for another two years.
Wrapping up
The ICI is now in the process of completing its “final recommendations” for flood works investigators, according to Reyes, hinting that the commission is on the verge of wrapping up its work.
“The ICI was created with a clear, time-bound mandate: to gather evidence, establish facts and propose corrective measures,” he said.
Reyes said the commission is now focusing on “finalizing the remaining items that will be submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman in order to strengthen and add to the growing number of cases that will eventually be filed with the courts, and hold those involved accountable.”
The ICI, according to the chairman, is also committed to “submitting all its final recommendations and ensuring that the appropriate institutions – particularly the ombudsman – have everything they need to bring these cases forward.”
“The public can be assured that accountability continues, and the process that the ICI began will move toward its proper legal conclusion,” Reyes stressed.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said in a television interview on Dec. 5 that the ICI has only about a month or two left, after which his office would take over its work.
“ICI is not intended to be forever,” Remulla said. “We have the law that created the Office of the Ombudsman. And we are now very active. In the coming year, we will be hiring young lawyers to carry on the job.”
Reyes differed from Remulla in a chance interview, saying that the ICI is good for two years, though he has no problem if its lifespan becomes shorter, given the bills deliberated in Congress to establish a permanent commission with greater powers.
“We will work very hard until whatever is the date of our existence,” the chairman said on Dec. 10.
As for Azurin, he said in an interview that because the ICI is an ad-hoc organization, he sees its minimum lifespan to be six months.
“It’s very normal, what our ombudsman said,” Azurin stressed.
He added that the ICI is serving as a “coordinating body” that gathers different agencies to support the investigation into anomalous infrastructure projects, as demonstrated by the technical working group on asset recovery, which involves nearly 20 agencies.
The sunset clause of Executive Order 94, which formed the ICI, states that the office will be abolished “upon the accomplishment of the purposes for which it was created or unless sooner dissolved by the President.”
Hosaka maintained that the commission will “stay true and continue in its mandate until its work is complete or the President decides to dissolve it.” — Helen Flores
