ICI disbanded by February 1? No info from Palace

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January 8, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —  The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has not received any notification from Malacañang that the four-month-old fact-finding body will be “disbanded” by Feb. 1.

Sen. Imee Marcos claimed during a television interview on Tuesday and a press conference yesterday that the ICI will be dissolved next month.

She did not cite where she got her information.

Asked for confirmation, ICI executive director Brian Keith Hosaka said, “We have not received any information or notice regarding this matter from Malacañang.”

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.”

The ICI has given a hint that it is wrapping up its work, given that the three-person fact-finding body has one member left: chairperson Andres Reyes Jr.

Following the resignation of commissioner Rossana Fajardo on Dec. 26, Reyes issued a statement stating that the ICI is now in the process of completing its “final recommendations” for flood works investigators.

The retired justice added that the commission is now focusing on “finalizing the remaining items that will be submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman.”

Palace press officer Claire Castro said on Tuesday that despite the string of resignations and other challenges besetting the ICI, its work remains unhampered.

“The ICI is still currently working, and the ombudsman is there with a promise to continue pursuing cases,” Castro said, adding, “Their enthusiasm to resolve these cases quickly does not waver.”