The ICI dies on March 31, 2026. That’s written into the executive order. The sunset clause flips on, and the commission just stops once it’s declared “done.”

Marcos Jr. signs Executive Order 94 in September 2025, right after that “Mahiya Naman Kayo” moment in his SONA. Suddenly, there’s this three‑member body under the Office of the President, tasked to dig into flood control and other infrastructure projects from 2013 to 2025—three administrations’ worth of spending.

On paper, it looks tough. It can subpoena, hold hearings, demand documents from government offices and private companies, and send everything to the Ombudsman and DOJ. But if you look closely, it stops there. It can investigate and recommend. It cannot prosecute. It cannot file a single case by itself. And it was always meant to end.

So as we reach the end of March, here’s where we are: the flood money is still gone, people still remember the images of ghost projects and overpriced dikes, and the body that opened the door is shutting itself down because that’s how it was built.

HOW EO 94 WAS BUILT TO MOVE FAST, THEN DISAPPEAR

When you read EO 94, you see what Malacañang was trying to do. Create a small, fast commission that doesn’t have to fight the usual DPWH bureaucracy. Three presidential appointees. A ten‑year time window from 2013 to 2025 so no camp can say “this is only about us.”

The powers sound impressive:

• It can hold hearings and take sworn testimonies.

• It can issue subpoenas for both people and documents.

• It can demand records from public agencies and private entities.

• It can coordinate with AMLC, BIR, NBI, and others through a technical working group.

But the limits are baked in:

• It has no prosecutorial power. It can only recommend cases to the Ombudsman or DOJ.

• It is temporary by design. Section 10 says once it has done its job—or once the President decides—it can be dissolved.

While that executive structure was running, Congress was already trying to go further. On one side you have House Bill 4453, the Independent Commission Against Infrastructure Corruption (ICAIC), which wants a permanent investigative body for infrastructure corruption. It’s imagined as a commission that:

• Runs on multi‑year cycles instead of one ad hoc mandate.

• Has contempt powers, so it can detain witnesses who refuse to cooperate.

• Can directly recommend closure of firms and cancellation of licenses through PRC.

• Has full access to records from AMLC, BIR, Customs, and other agencies without renegotiating every time.

• Is shielded from TROs issued by lower courts that usually stall big cases.

On the other side, the Senate is pushing a different shape: Senate Bill 1215, the Independent People’s Commission (IPC). That one imagines a five‑member body with three‑year terms, broader than just infrastructure, with enough continuity to survive changes in the Palace. Same spirit—independent oversight, stronger powers—but a larger, more stable board instead of a tiny ad hoc commission.

So if you zoom out, there are two “future models”: a permanent infrastructure‑focused ICAIC, and a broader IPC that can roam across sectors. Both give more autonomy than the ICI ever had. Both are still stuck in Congress. The ICI was built to move fast then disappear. The replacements are still on paper.

WHAT THE ICI ACTUALLY DID IN 125 DAYS

This is where I stop thinking about design and look at output. What did this commission actually manage to do before it died?

The 125‑Day Accomplishment Report went to the President on February 6, 2026. Important detail: the ICI only operated as a full three‑member body for around 90 days. Commissioners Rogelio Singson and Rossana Fajardo resigned in December 2025. After that, Justice Andres Reyes Jr. was basically alone until March.

Even with that, the list of what they processed is heavy:

• 9,855 flood control projects investigated, worth over ₱545 billion.

• 9 major referrals submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman.

• 65 people referred—lawmakers, contractors, engineers—for criminal and administrative cases or further investigation.

• 66 individuals placed under Immigration Lookout Bulletin Orders.

• 32 hearings held, adding up to about 44 hours.

• 36 witnesses summoned, including 7 senators and 13 congressmen.

• 16 field inspections done on actual infrastructure sites.

• About 200 “mega boxes” of documents produced and turned over—two truckloads of evidence.

If you’ve ever wondered whether government can move fast when it wants to, these numbers are one answer. Almost ten thousand projects compressed into a few months of hearings and field checks.

And the pattern they saw? Not surprising, but still infuriating. Overpricing. Substandard materials. Projects that exist only on paper. The same contractors and politicians circling the same money. The stuff we joke about every rainy season, except this time someone actually wrote it down and boxed it.

THE ASSET RECOVERY MACHINE AND WHAT IT FROZE

For me, one of the most concrete things the ICI leaves behind is the asset recovery trail. This is where “follow the money” stops being a slogan.

The commission pushed for a Technical Working Group on Asset Recovery. Around 20 agencies sat there: AMLC, BIR, NBI, and others with access to bank data, tax filings, and property records. Their job was to find where the flood money went once it left the Treasury.

The partial result: around ₱24.7 billion in assets frozen or preserved, tied to suspicious projects. That breaks down into:

• 6,692 bank accounts.

• 161 parcels of land and buildings.

• 229 vehicles, including high‑end European and British brands.

• 394 insurance policies.

• 10 aircraft—planes and helicopters.

• 16 e‑wallet accounts.

You’ve probably seen the photos of seized luxury vehicles being auctioned. That’s the visible part. The rest sits quietly in the system, frozen while courts decide if the state can keep them.

And that’s where ICI’s reach ends. They can trace, coordinate, and recommend. The courts have to decide forfeiture. That’s a multi‑year game of motions and appeals. In the meantime, the message to the public is complicated: yes, the government can touch rich people’s assets, but whether those people actually lose them or just wait out the process is a different question.

THE THREE INFORMATION SYSTEMS THE ICI LEAVES BEHIND

The commission doesn’t just brag about “fraud‑detection software.” It specifically points to three information systems they built to spot anomalies in infrastructure.

Those systems are built to:

• Scan procurement and bidding data to catch patterns that look like bid‑rigging or contractor collusion.

• Compare contract prices against market‑standard material and labor costs so overpricing doesn’t hide in plain sight.

• Cross‑check accomplishment reports with on‑site inspections and geographic data to flag ghost or severely delayed projects.

Reyes keeps saying this is the real legacy: not just names on referrals, but tools and methods. The idea is that once ICI shuts down, these systems are turned over to the Ombudsman, DPWH, AMLC, and others so they can keep hunting anomalies even without a special commission.

The tools are there. Whether the next set of people actually use them the way ICI did is another story.

THE “BIG FISH” CASES: ZALDY CO, SUNWEST, AND BONG REVILLA

Now we get to the part everyone cares about: who got named, who’s in trouble, who ran.

The first big name is former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co and his link to Sunwest Corporation. The ICI’s first referral, around late September 2025, zeroed in on a ₱289 million river dike project in Oriental Mindoro. The allegation: anomalous implementation with his political and business network at the center.

As of March 2026, his situation looks like this:

• He’s facing one count of malversation of public funds through falsification and two counts of graft.

• The Sandiganbayan has issued an arrest warrant for him and 17 others, with no bail recommended.

• He resigned from the House and left the country; last reports place him in Japan. Authorities are pushing for an Interpol Red Notice.

• Vehicles and properties linked to his network are inside that pool of frozen or seized assets.

Then you have Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. In January 2026, the Sandiganbayan issued an arrest warrant in connection with a ₱92.8 million flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan. On paper, the project is “100 percent complete.” On the ground, investigators say it was never implemented.

Key points there:

• Around ₱76 million was released based on allegedly fake billings and accomplishment reports.

• Prosecutors say Revilla worked with six officials from the DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office.

• He insists he was denied due process. The court says there’s enough to go to trial.

If you look at the full referral list, it isn’t just these two. There are at least:

• Eight House members.

• Seven senators.

Names that keep coming up include Martin Romualdez, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, Joel Villanueva, Bong Go, Sandro Marcos, and Mitch Cajayon‑Uy. Some deny everything. Some are under formal probe. Some are on the ILBO list.

And then there’s the seventh referral, which quietly expands the cast. That one, released in early December 2025, ropes in:

• Revilla again.

• Cherry Mobile CEO Maynard Ngu.

• A contractor widely referred to as “Mrs. Patron,” whose companies appear again and again in flood control contracts.

• Several DPWH officials who signed off on the deals.

That seventh referral is important because it makes something clear: this is not just a story of politicians. It’s also about the business network that builds (or pretends to build) these projects and converts government contracts into private wealth.

The frustration from critics like Leila de Lima is simple: if all of this just ends at referrals and lookout orders, then we’re watching a show, not a real accountability process.

WHERE THE REPORTS WENT, AND WHY THEY’RE STILL SECRET

Let me lay out where the paperwork actually went.

Two key sets of documents matter most:

• The 125‑Day Accomplishment Report, submitted to the President on February 6, 2026.

• The final set of findings, evidence, and records turned over to the Office of the Ombudsman in March 2026, just before the sunset date.

None of that has been released to the public in full.

The official reasons are:

• The Ombudsman and DOJ are still in the preliminary investigation phase. If they release everything now, suspects who are not yet flagged might run or destroy data.

• The Data Privacy Act of 2012. These reports are stuffed with bank statements, tax documents, and personally identifying information of both suspects and witnesses.

Reyes and Malacañang keep promising a “sanitized” version—something that keeps the substance but scrubs sensitive personal data and avoids lawsuits.

The longer that sanitized version takes, the more people suspect a different kind of cleaning: political cleaning. Especially once you remember that the investigation touched the House Speaker and Senate President. Analysts like Ronald Llamas have already pointed to that shift in energy—from “Mahiya Naman Kayo” to quiet winding down.

Right now, those 200 mega boxes and several hard drives sit at the Ombudsman in Quezon City. Ombudsman Remulla says they’re using AI tools to sort and analyze everything and that they’re “way ahead” on some House cases. That all sounds good on paper, but it’s happening behind closed doors.

We saw the trucks. We haven’t seen the reports.

ECONOMIC COLLATERAL: JOBS LOST AND PROJECTS FROZEN

It’s easy to get stuck on the big numbers and forget the people who actually took the first hit.

Between 2022 and 2025, government set aside around ₱545 billion for flood control. Based on what ICI found, roughly 20 percent—about ₱100 billion—didn’t go where it was supposed to go.

You can write that loss like this:

Ltotal=∑i=1n(Pi×Cf)

Where each project value is multiplied by a “corruption factor” of about 0.20, and then added up. On paper, it’s clean. In real life, it means entire communities that still flood and budgets that quietly went somewhere else.

Put simply, if you apply a 20% “corruption factor” to each project and add it all up, you get an approximate total loss.

Labor groups say around 100,000 construction workers lost their jobs when permits were canceled or projects were suspended because of the scandal. The sector slowed down. Unemployment touched around 4.2 percent in 2025, and part of that spike traces back to this crackdown.

On the company side:

• 16 contractors were blacklisted.

• Around 60 others are under investigation.

And now you have a chilling effect. Some builders are hesitant to join government projects. Not because they want to steal, but because they’re afraid of delayed payments, sudden suspensions, or getting caught in a scandal they didn’t create.

So the pattern repeats. Corruption drains the budget first. Then the late reaction to corruption hits workers, slows projects, and keeps communities exposed.

But has corruption on these deals die? Not really. They just learned to suspend. To be more secretive.

Huwag muna ngayon. Masyado pang mainit ang paligid.

THE FRAGILITY INSIDE THE COMMISSION ITSELF

If you look inside the ICI, you see another kind of vulnerability.

It was supposed to be a three‑person collegial body. That structure matters: shared risk, shared decisions. By December 2025, that collapsed. Rogelio “Babes” Singson resigned, citing health and security concerns. Rossana Fajardo stepped down after saying she had completed her tasks. Before that, Singson had already complained about how funding only came months after the commission was created.

From then on, Reyes Jr. was effectively the only commissioner left. People started asking whether a “one‑man commission” still carries the same legitimacy as what EO 94 originally described.

You can read all the legal arguments, but I keep coming back to something else: investigating powerful people in this country is dangerous work. There’s pressure, there are threats, and there’s always that quiet understanding that the people you’re looking into have more money, more lawyers, and more time than you do.

If even the anti‑corruption body looks fragile from the inside, that tells you something about the environment it had to operate in.

SUCCESSOR LEGISLATION: WILL ICAIC OR IPC EVER BECOME REAL?

Everyone understands the basic problem: anything created by executive order can be ended by executive order. That’s why HB 4453 and SB 1215 matter. They are attempts to turn this function into law, not just a presidential project.

The ICAIC bill in the House would:

• Make the commission permanent, with defined cycles like two‑year terms.

• Give it contempt powers so it can enforce its own subpoenas.

• Allow it to push for automatic license cancellations and firm closures through regulators.

• Guarantee access to records across agencies without endless negotiation.

• Protect it from TROs and injunctions from lower courts.

The IPC bill in the Senate would:

• Create a five‑member commission with three‑year terms.

• Give it authority to investigate corruption beyond infrastructure.

• Build in transparency and public‑reporting requirements from the start.

Technical working groups have met. Experts from UP and elsewhere have weighed in. Business groups have even asked Congress to hurry and pass a stronger body. But despite a ₱1.3 trillion infrastructure budget for 2026, neither bill has been treated as truly urgent.

So we’re staring at a gap: ICI is ending, ICAIC and IPC are not yet real. And huge amounts of public works funding are moving through that gap.

WHERE THE FLOOD SCANDAL SITS IN THE CORRUPTION CYCLE

If you map this scandal against the classic “corruption cycle,” we’re somewhere in the messy middle.

• Stage 1, uncovering: done. The issue is public, hearings were televised, people know flood money was abused.

• Stage 2, investigation: ongoing, shifted from ICI to the Ombudsman, AI tools and all.

• Stage 3, indictment: partial. There are arrest warrants for Co, Revilla, and others.

• Stage 4, punishment: not here yet. No convictions tied specifically to these ICI referrals.

• Stage 5 and 6, reversal and rehabilitation: still in the future, but if you know our history, you can already imagine how some of these names might reappear later.

Analysts don’t expect any final convictions this year. These cases will likely stretch into the next election cycles. We’ve seen this movie before: delays, motions, appeals, and eventually either a quiet conviction years later or an acquittal when people have moved on.

WHAT STAYS AFTER THE ICI ENDS

When you strip away the noise, the ICI leaves three big things behind:

• A clear picture of how flood control and other infrastructure were abused—down to projects, amounts, and names.

• Three information systems and a huge evidence base that other agencies can use if they want to keep digging.

• Around ₱24.7 billion in frozen assets that could, in theory, be forfeited and redirected to the public.

But if you ask people on the street, that’s not what they’ll mention first.

They’ll tell you the big names are still free. Zaldy Co is abroad. Bong Revilla is facing another case but still not convicted on this one. Lawmakers named in referrals are still very much inside the political system. And the main report that binds all of this together is sealed, waiting for a “sanitized” version no one has seen.

So I end up here: the facts are on paper, the numbers are counted, the boxes are stacked in the Ombudsman’s office. The open question is whether any of that will actually change how future officials and contractors behave, or if it will just join the long list of scandals we can all recite from memory.

SOURCES:

1. Executive Order No. 94 - Lawphil, https://lawphil.net/executive/execord/eo2025/eo_94_2025.html

2. President Marcos signs EO 94 creating Independent Commission for Infrastructure, https://pco.gov.ph/news_releases/president-marcos-signs-eo-94-creating-independent-commission-for-infrastructure/

3. Executive Order No. 94 (official PDF), https://pco.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/20250911-EO-94-FRM.pdf

4. Executive Order No. 94 (Inquirer PDF mirror), https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/files/2025/09/EXECUTIVE-ORDER-NO.-94.pdf

5. Executive Order No. 94 social card, https://www.facebook.com/govph/posts/𝐄𝐗𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄-𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑-𝐍𝐎-𝟗𝟒-𝐬-𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓-Creating-the-Independent-Commission-for-Infrastructure

6. ICI’s work on flood mess ends March 31, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2195448/icis-work-on-flood-mess-ends-march-31

7. ICI “winds down”, operational until March 31, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2195173/ici-winds-down-operational-until-march-31

8. Ombudsman using AI to vet ICI’s “mega boxes of data”, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2195807/ombudsman-using-ai-to-vet-icis-mega-boxes-of-data

9. ICI turns over 200 megaboxes of flood control evidence to Ombudsman, AI to assist in case review, https://dzrh.com.ph/post/ici-turns-over-200-megaboxes-of-flood-control-evidence-to-ombudsman-ai-to-assist-in-case-review

10. Independent Commission for Infrastructure to end operations on March 31, https://filipinotimes.net/latest-news/2026/03/15/independent-commission-for-infrastructure-to-end-operations-on-march-31/

11. AMLC freezes P25-B assets in flood projects, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2175723/amlc-freezes-p25-b-assets-in-flood-projects

12. Seized flood scam assets near P25 billion – AMLC, https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/01/31/2504923/seized-flood-scam-assets-near-p25-billion-amlc

13. P24.7-B halaga ng assets na na-freeze na ng AMLC may kaugnayan sa flood control mess, https://www.bomboradyo.com/p24-7-b-halaga-ng-assets-na-na-freeze-na-ng-amlc-may-kaugnayan-sa-flood-control-mess

14. AMLC freezes nearly P25B in assets so far in flood control mess, https://www.newswatchplus.ph/2026/02/01/amlc-freezes-nearly-p25b-assets-flood-control-mess/

15. AMLC: CA freezes 379 more bank accounts in flood control mess, https://www.facebook.com/groups/812356699259219/posts/2299099570584917/

16. AMLC freezes P21.2B assets in anomalous flood control projects, https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/972694/assets-flood-control-projects/story/

17. AMLC FREEZES P24.7-B ASSETS LINKED TO ALLEGED FLOOD CONTROL ANOMALIES, https://www.facebook.com/mytvcebu30/posts/amlc-freezes-p247-b-assets-linked-to-alleged-flood-control-anomaliesread-the-ant/14364

18. AMLC: CA freezes 6,692 bank accounts, 10 air assets, 161 real estate properties in flood mess, https://www.facebook.com/groups/812356699259219/posts/2299099570584917/

19. Bill creating commission vs infrastructure corruption pushed (HB 4453), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iot9IoAnlW8

20. House panel holds technical briefing on Independent Infra Commission (HB 4453), https://www.congress.gov.ph/media/press-releases/view/?content=9516&title=House+panel+holds+technical+briefing+on+Independent+Infrastructure+Commission

21. Biz groups: Rush creation of more powerful panel, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2153593/biz-groups-rush-creation-of-more-powerful-panel

22. 16 senators sign report to form independent body to probe infra anomalies (IPC / SB 1512, substitute for SB 1215), https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/966059/16-senators-sign-report-to-form-independent-body-to-probe-infra-anomali

23. Bill creating Independent People’s Commission sponsored in Senate plenary (SB 1215), https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/12/independent-people-s-commission-bill-sponsored-in-senate-plenary-2128

24. Sotto’s bill creating independent body to probe gov’t corruption (Independent People’s Commission), https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2128605/sotto-seeks-urgent-passage-of-independent-peoples-commission-bill

25. Sotto seeks stronger powers, transparency for People’s Commission, https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1261581

26. Puno: SB 1215 creating Independent People’s Commission, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuptni4Tbtc

27. UP IGLR weighs in on proposed ICAIC bills, https://www.facebook.com/uplawofficial/posts/up-iglr-weighs-in-on-proposed-icaic-billsfollowing-investigations-into-the-natio/12

28. AMLC freezes P24.7-B assets linked to alleged flood control anomalies (summary card), https://www.facebook.com/mytvcebu30/posts/amlc-freezes-p247-b-assets-linked-to-alleged-flood-control-anomaliesread-the-ant/14364

29. ICI to end operations at end of month, https://mb.com.ph/2026/03/13/ici-to-end-operations-at-end-of-month

30. ICI to wind down operations, turns over flood control files to Ombudsman, https://abogado.com.ph/ici-concludes-flood-control-probe-turns-over-files-to-ombudsman/

31. ICI’s investigation ends on March 31 (Rappler video post), https://www.facebook.com/rapplerdotcom/posts/icis-investigation-ends-on-march-31after-six-months-of-operations-the-independen/14

32. Ombudsman to use AI to review submitted ICI documents, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2195477/ombudsman-to-use-ai-to-scrutinize-submitted-ici-docs

33. Ombudsman using AI to vet ICI’s “mega boxes of data” (social post), https://www.facebook.com/inquirerdotnet/posts/ombudsman-using-ai-to-vet-icis-mega-boxes-of-data/1369160525394899/

34. Flood control projects scandal in the Philippines (background), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_control_projects_scandal_in_the_Philippines

35. AMLC freezes nearly P25B in assets in flood control mess (alt writeup), https://www.newswatchplus.ph/2026/02/01/amlc-freezes-nearly-p25b-assets-flood-control-mess/

36. ICI to end operations on March 31 (Panay News post), https://www.facebook.com/PanayNews/posts/ici-to-end-operations-on-march-31independent-commission-for-infrastructure-chair/136639

37. NAMES DROPPED IN FLOOD CONTROL PROBE (includes “Mrs. Patron”), https://www.facebook.com/News5Everywhere/posts/names-dropped-in-flood-control-probeformer-public-works-official-roberto-bernard

38. Villar says ICI referral to Ombudsman proves allegations against him are baseless, https://www.facebook.com/iMPACTLeadershipPH/posts/villar-says-ici-referral-to-ombudsman-proves-allegations-against-him-are-basel

39. Ombudsman files charges against Zaldy Co, et al for P289M flood project anomalies, https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/966555/ombudsman-charges-zaldy-co-flood-project-anomalies/story/

40. Zaldy Co has P4.7-B in air assets; info sent to AMLC, ICI, DOJ, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNCOYJzfzzc

41. Revilla, 6 others sued for P93 million “ghost” project, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2169207/revilla-6-others-sued-for-p93m-ghost-project

42. ICI recommends charges vs Bong Revilla, others over flood control mess, https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/968350/ici-submits-referral-vs-bong-revilla-others-over-flood-control-mess/story/

43. Flood mess leads to over 100000 job losses, https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/02/13/2507643/flood-mess-leads-over-100000-job-losses

44. ICI fate depends on remaining work – PBBM, https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1267111

45. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 94 establishing ICI (PIA card), https://www.facebook.com/pia.gov.ph/posts/in-the-news-president-ferdinand-r-marcos-jr-signed-executive-order-no-94-establi/11989

46. Marcos forms independent commission to probe flood control, other infra projects (Rappler video), https://www.facebook.com/rapplerdotcom/videos/marcos-forms-independent-commission-to-probe-flood-control-other-infra-projects/29

47. ICI to end operations on March 31 (Situation Report PH), https://x.com/TheSitRepPH/status/2032335436312645998/photo/1

48. THE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION FOR INFRASTRUCTURE WILL SHUT DOWN ITS OPERATIONS (Situation Report PH long card), https://www.facebook.com/SituationReportPH/posts/the-independent-commission-for-infrastructure-ici-will-shut-down-its-operations

49. AMLC freezes nearly P25B as part of flood control crackdown (MyTV Cebu summary), https://www.facebook.com/mytvcebu30/posts/amlc-freezes-p247-b-assets-linked-to-alleged-flood-control-anomaliesread-the-ant/14364

50. Sotto seeks urgent passage of Independent People’s Commission bill (PNA / Inquirer combo references), https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2128605/sotto-seeks-urgent-passage-of-independent-peoples-commission-bill