THE Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has announced a delay in its plan to recommend a new set of charges against three additional senators allegedly involved in the flood control project scandal. ICI Chair Andres Reyes Jr. cited the need to reevaluate affidavits submitted by former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo as the reason for the delay.
Reyes told reporters on Wednesday that the probe body needs to thoroughly review Bernardo’s affidavits before submitting recommendations to the Office of the Ombudsman against the unnamed legislators.
The review will encompass the first and second affidavits presented by Bernardo to the commission in September, when he appeared as a resource person. The three senators in question are in addition to incumbent Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, who were previously referred to the Ombudsman by the ICI on October 29.
Bernardo, who has been found to have criminal and administrative liability over several anomalous flood control projects, has repeatedly missed scheduled appearances before the ICI, citing medical reasons and his application to the Witness Protection Program.
During the Senate blue ribbon panel’s inquiry into the flood-control projects scandal on Friday, Bernardo reiterated his previous testimonies implicating several legislators, including former senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Nancy Binay, as well as incumbent Senators Francis Escudero and Jinggoy Estrada, as recipients of “commitments” or kickbacks from DPWH projects.
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