Whose nerve was struck?
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro posed this question to Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who resigned last week from the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).
Magalong had expressed surprise that he was not supposed to serve as an investigator but merely adviser to the ICI.
‘I think I struck a nerve,’ Magalong said last week, adding that he ‘may have hit too close to home.’
‘Whose nerve?’ Castro asked last Friday on One News’ ‘Storycon,’ as she urged Magalong to name names instead of making insinuations.
She maintained that President Marcos did not ask Magalong to resign, adding that her earlier announcement was merely based on what Marcos said: a review of Magalong’s dual role as mayor and ICI adviser to ensure that it would not violate the Constitution.
Castro confirmed that Magalong held a position as member of the commission, but he declined as he did not want to resign as Baguio mayor.
Magalong earlier called out Castro over a recent press briefing that supposedly cast doubt on his role at the ICC.
Castro also denied that the ICI would simply duplicate the responsibilities of other government agencies such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Ombudsman.
‘Based on EO (Executive Order) 94, (the ICI’s mandate) is recommendatory. They will gather the documents, and they can recommend the filing of a case to the ombudsman or the DOJ,’ Castro said.
‘It will be easier on the part of the DOJ or ombudsman if the documents are already complete and they will just check it,’ she added.
Although the DOJ, through the National Bureau of Investigation, can also investigate alleged anomalies in infrastructure projects, Castro noted that these agencies also handle other cases.
‘It will be easier if there is an investigating body that is focused (on issues on infrastructure),’ she said.
Several legislators are pushing for a law that will institutionalize an independent body tasked to probe alleged anomalies in flood control and other infrastructure projects.
Proponents noted that the ICI, which was created only through the President’s EO, lacks powers as it is merely fact-finding in nature.
Castro maintained that even if it was created by the President, the ICI is an independent body and Marcos has no control over its process.
She made this remark after the ICI drew flak over its decision not to make public its hearings on the anomalies.
‘It will be up to the ICI to determine its policies since it is independent from the executive. The President will not interfere. Whatever process they decide to take will be entirely within the ICI’s discretion,’ she said.