By BusinessWorld,Cedtyclea

Copyright bworldonline

By Adrian H. Halili, Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporters and Erika Mae P. Sinaking

THE Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has tagged 18 people as being “potentially responsible” for irregularities in a P289.5-million flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

In an initial report submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday, the agency said the project, carried out by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region IV-B through contractor Sunwest, Inc., used steel sheet piles 2.5 to 3 meters long instead of the required 12 meters, which could have led to losses worth more than P63 million.

The commission also cited incomplete documentation and the reuse of photographs in billing submissions.

Party-list Rep. Elizaldy S. Co, former chairman of the House committee on appropriations, was among those identified. Sunwest had been linked to Mr. Co, though he has said he had divested from the company.

Other names included DPWH regional officials, division engineers, bids and awards committee members and Sunwest executives.

ICI Executive Director Brian Keith Hosaka told reporters the panel had recommended possible graft, procurement and falsification charges, while noting that the findings were preliminary.

Mr. Co, who is overseas, said he was resigning from his congressional post as allegations mounted over his alleged role in questionable flood control projects and budget insertions.

“With a heavy heart, I submit my resignation as a representative,” he said in a Facebook post in Filipino. He added that his decision was “not easy” but was “for the good of my family and the people I continue to serve.”

In a separate letter to Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, he denied accusations by Navotas Rep. Tobias Reynald M. Tiangco that he had orchestrated insertions of billions of pesos in unprogrammed funds and steered allocations toward lucrative infrastructure projects.

“I categorically deny these baseless accusations,” Mr. Co said, rejecting claims that he masterminded or tolerated last-minute budget realignments in the 2025 General Appropriations Act.

Mr. Tiangco earlier filed an ethics complaint against Mr. Co, citing conflicts of interest, his prolonged absence since the 20th Congress began, and ties to contractors accused of paying kickbacks.

The controversy follows criticism of the 2025 budget after bicameral conferees raised unprogrammed appropriations to more than P500 billion and added vague line items after Congress ratified the bill.

Mr. Co has also been accused of collecting as much as 25% commissions from congressional insertions — charges he dismissed as unfounded.

The scandal underscores growing scrutiny of billions of pesos in flood control projects, with multiple congressional committees and the palace-backed Independent Commission for Infrastructure probing allegations of corruption.

Critics warn the controversy threatens to weaken disaster-preparedness spending in a country hit by an average of 20 storms a year and widely seen as the world’s most disaster-prone nation.

INTERPOL NOTICE
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has asked the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to issue a blue notice for Mr. Co, Malacañang said.

Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro told reporters the request is meant to track Mr. Co’s movements abroad. “The blue notice is not an authorization to arrest; it is merely for monitoring where the person is going,” she said in Filipino.

“Our country will be informed and updated about the whereabouts and location of the individual subject to the blue notice,” she added.

Mr. Co is in the US for what he described as a medical procedure. The Speaker has revoked his travel clearance and ordered him to return to the Philippines by Sept. 29.

The corruption scandal came to light after President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. used his July State of the Nation Address to accuse lawmakers of profiting from government projects. Since then, the President has ordered lifestyle checks on officials, conducted surprise inspections of projects and created the ICI to pursue cases.

Subsequent inquiries by several agencies have flagged irregularities, citing recycled documentation and substandard construction materials.

Mr. Co has been repeatedly identified in hearings as one of the recipients of alleged kickbacks. His construction firms were also named by the President among companies that secured billions of pesos in public contracts.

Political analysts at the weekend said the President’s anti-corruption drive on flood control project risks being dismissed as political theater unless it delivers prosecutions and convictions, as business groups pressed him to match rhetoric with accountability and reforms.

On Sept. 21, thousands of Filipinos marched in the capital in the biggest protest in years against the multibillion-peso flood control scandal, turning weeks of online outrage over corruption into mass street demonstrations that rattled the political establishment.