SPEAKER Faustino Dy III yesterday said the House Infrastructure Committee should drop its ongoing probe on the flood control fund scandal and let the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) to do the job.
Dy, who took over the helm at the House of Representatives after the resignation of Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez as the chamber’s leader, noted that the public does not believe in the credibility of the investigation being conducted by the House joint panel.
“Mas makakabuti na ipasa na sa ICI (It’s better to pass it [probe] to the ICI),” he said. “Kailangan i-submit na namin sa ICI (ang findings) kasi hindi naman pinaniniwalaan ng ating mga kababayan iyong mga nangyayari sa Infra Comm (We have to submit the Infra Comm’s findings to the ICI because the people don’t believe in what’s happening in the Infra Comm anyway),” he told reporters.
The ICI was created by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to get to the bottom of the allegations of graft and corruption related to government infrastructure contracts, particularly flood control projects.
Dy did not say if the Infra Comm, which is composed of three House committees headed by lead chair Rep. Terry Ridon (PL, Bicol Saro), will now end the investigation after two hearings.
Ridon said the joint panel will consult with the new Speaker this week “regarding the direction of the new leadership on the House Infrastructure Committee.”
“We defer to his current pronouncement directing the submission of reports, transcripts, and documents to the ICI,” Ridon said.
It was before the Infra Comm that Engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, the former assistant district engineer of Bulacan’s Fist Engineering District, accused Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva of allegedly receiving 30 percent in kickbacks from their flood control projects in Bulacan.
Estrada allegedly got 30 percent of his P355 million worth of projects in Bulacan this year, while Villanueva supposedly got 30 percent from a total of P600 million in flood control projects, mostly in his home town Bocaue, in 2023.
Estrada and Villanueva have denied the allegations.
The allegations were made on September 9, just a day after contractors Cezarah Rowena “Sarah” Discaya and her husband, Pacifico “Curlee” II, named 17 congressmen, eight officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and a former government official as alleged recipients of “advance commissions” that they paid to get government projects.
Hernandez has said that his former bosses, dismissed former District Engineer Henry Alcantara and Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo are also involved in the scheme, with Alcantara being the “chief implementer” who instructed DPWH staff to deliver the cash to the lawmakers.
Dy said that instead of probing irregularities related to the flood control projects, the House can focus on thoroughly scrutinizing the proposed P6.793 trillion national budget for 2026 to ensure that it will not be riddled with questionable insertions like this year’s budget.
“Ang importante po ngayon ay tapusin po natin ‘yung ating budget. Doon ho tayo ngayon naka-focus. Sisguraduhin natin na maayos, malinis ang budget nato. (What’s important right now is to finish the budget. That’s our focus. We will make sure that this budget is appropriate and clean),” he said.
NO REPLY
Dy said said Rep. Zaldy Co (PL, Ako Bicol) has not yet responded to his order for him to return to the country to face the ongoing investigation into the flood control fund anomalies.
“Wala pa sa ngayon. Siguro hintayin natin tutal binigyan naman natin siya ng sampung [araw] para malaman natin kung ano ang magiging kasagutan ni Cong. Zaldy Co (No answer as of now. Perhaps, we should wait since we gave 10 days to know what Cong. Zaldy Co’s answer will be),” he said.
Dy on Friday said that he has revoked Co’s travel clearance and ordered him to return to the country within 10 days to face the ongoing investigations.
“Your existing travel clearance for your personal trip is hereby revoked effective immediately,” Dy said in a letter to Co dated September 18.
Co, who was the former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, is accused of allegedly orchestrating the insertion of billions of pesos in the 2025 national budget.
The embattled lawmaker, who is reportedly in the United States for medical treatment, has also not responded to social media claims that he has threatened to resign as a lawmaker if the House leadership will force him to return home.
Dy said the House leadership will discuss with the House Committee on Ethics what its next plan of action would be if Co does not return by September 28.
“Siguro, pag-uusapan natin, pag-uusapan ng leadership, especially yung chair ng Ethics, kung ano pa ‘yung mga pwedeng gawin para matiyak natin na makauwi si Cong. Zaldy Co (Perhaps, we’ll discuss, the leadership will discuss, especially the chair of the ethics committee, what we can do to ensure that Cong. Zaldy Co will return home),” he said.
The House Committee on Ethics has the authority to recommend sanctions ranging from a simple reprimand to expulsion of an erring lawmaker, like in the case of former Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves, who was removed as a House member.
Vice President Sara Duterte has questioned why the House cannot force Co to return to the country, saying the lawmaker suddenly has a heart condition that needs immediate medical attention abroad.
“Bakit noong okay pa sila ni (President Marcos Jr.), wala siynag problema sa puso. Bakit ngayon, mayroon nang problema sa puso si Zaldy Co? (Why is it that when he and President Marcos were still okay, he didn’t have a heart problem? Why is that he now has a heart problem?)” she told supporters in Nagoya, Japan last Sunday.
“Ngayon na lahat nagsasabi, kahit contractor, nagsasabi na si Zaldy Co ang susi sa pagkuha ng pera. Anong ginawa? Pinabayaang umalis ng bansa dahil daw mayroong heart problem (Now everyone, even contractors, are saying Zaldy Co is the key in massing money. What did they do? They allowed him to leave the country because he has a heart problem),” Duterte said.
SALN
Dy said he is willing to open his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) to help regain public trust in Congress.
“Yes, kung kakailanganing ipakita yung sakin, (Yes, if there will be a need to show mine), why not?” he said, reacting to the call of the Akbayan Reform Bloc for lawmakers to make their SALNs public.
“Sa tingin ko naman sa ngayon ay kailangan talaga na maging… makita nila na ang ating mga miyembro, at hindi lang dito sa miyembro ng ating mababang kapulungan, dito sa Kongreso, ay dapat talagang makita at maging bukas ang SALN ng bawat isa (I think right now we need to show the people that every member’s SALN is open, not just the members of the Lower House but the whole Congress),” he said.
