The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved a P41.4 million budget for the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) for 2025, according to ICI Executive Director Brian Keith Hosaka.
In a press briefing, Hosaka said the Office of the President ordered the release of the initial operating budget of the ICI, amounting to P41,481,000, which is chargeable to the contingent fund.
Hosaka said the budget covers the commission’s operational requirements and capital outlay until the end of 2025.
‘It’s a big thing. In any agency, funding is very important. It’s very crucial for our efficiency and for us to be able to work and meet the operational requirements and, at the same time, comply with what we are asked for under the Executive Order No. 94,’ he noted.
‘I believe it’s going to come soon because only a few documents are needed,’ he added, referring to the release of the commission’s budget from DBM.
‘172 contractual positions’
Hosaka likewise said the DBM has also approved the ICI’s staffing pattern and creation of 172 contractual positions within the commission.
While not providing specific details on the staffing pattern, he said they will establish their legal department, special investigation office, and administrative department, among others.
‘Our lawyers today, most of them are being detailed to us by the other agencies of the government. But with this staffing pattern being approved now, and with the budget hopefully to be downloaded soon to the commission, we will be able to accommodate our organic staff already, which will be composed of lawyers, accountants and engineers as well,’ Hosaka told reporters.
In hiring employees, the ICI will accommodate referrals and applications from different sectors.
Meanwhile, the commission will prioritize the personal service expenses, such as providing their employees their salaries, and getting equipment ‘to be able to be more efficient and to be able to work faster.’
Hosaka said the budget will also cover the equipment they will use in livestreaming their hearings on their investigation into the flood control anomalies.
Created in September, the ICI is currently investigating infrastructure anomalies across the country in the past 10 years.