MANILA – Local government clearance will once again be required before national infrastructure projects are considered complete, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced Monday, saying this safeguard was removed during the previous administration and weakened accountability on public works.
In a press briefing in Malacañang, Marcos said requiring local chief executives to formally accept projects before they are declared finished is an important check against substandard outputs.
“We are putting it back because that is one of the best safeguards that we have,” Marcos told reporters.
“Alala ko nung governor ako, walang pwedeng sabihin completed kung hindi accepted ng local government. Babalik natin ‘yun. Tinanggal nila in the last administration (I remember when I was governor, no project could be considered completed without the local government’s acceptance. We will bring that back. It was removed in the last administration).”
He added that local officials are in the best position to verify whether infrastructure is built to standard.
“Kasi pagka nasa LGU ka, hindi mo naman pinakikitaan ‘yung project. Kaya ang maliwanag, titignan nito talaga na tama na ‘yung kalsada, eight inches talaga ‘yung konkreto (When you are in the LGU, you are not profiting from the project. So it’s clear they will really check that the road is correct, that the concrete is really eight inches thick),” he said.
Marcos also affirmed the sweeping mandate of the newly created Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to investigate alleged anomalies in multi-billion-peso flood control projects.
He named retired Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes Jr. as chair, with former Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson and SGV & Co. executive Rossana Fajardo as commissioners, and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong as consultant.
The ICI has subpoena powers but will not prosecute cases directly.
“What I want to stress here is the independent nature of this commission. Hindi kami mangingialam sa trabaho nila (We will not interfere in their work),” Marcos said.
He said the commission has decided to meet daily to fast-track its findings.
The ICI will cover the past 10 years of flood control contracts, consistent with the Commission on Audit’s record-keeping rule.
Marcos also said funds saved from the cancellation of all 2026 flood control projects would instead be redirected to education, agriculture, health, housing, ICT, labor, energy, and social programs.
“What we really want is to fix the system… We have to make it nothing less than a turning point in the conduct of governance in the Philippines,” he said. (PNA)