Palace: PBBM expects passage of proposed IPC by June

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has expressed optimism over the passage of the proposed Independent People’s Commission (IPC) Act by June this year, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

The proposed creation of an IPC was among the 21 priority measures approved by Marcos during the third Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Tuesday.

“‘Yun ang napag-usapan at pipilitin na maipasa lahat itong 21 priority bills bago matapos ang June itong taon (That was what was discussed, and efforts will be made to pass all 21 priority bills before the end of June this year),” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing.

The IPC bill seeks to enhance public transparency and accountability, amid the Marcos administration’s intensified crackdown on government and financial irregularities.

Asked about the possible implication of the IPC’s creation on the fate of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), Castro said the future of the existing fact-finding body remains unknown, pending the review of its investigation findings on anomalous flood control projects.

“Ngayon po ay hindi pa po natin alam kung ano ang mangyayari sa ICI dahil kabibigay lamang po nila ng kanilang report at ngayon po iyon ay inaaral (At this point, we still do not know what will happen to the ICI because it has just submitted its report, which is now under review),” she said.

“Kung magkakaroon po ng People’s Independent Commission, tingnan po natin kung ano ang mangyayari sa ICI dahil ang ICI naman po is an independent commission, a fact-finding commission na nakakatulong po sa ehekutibo para mas mapabilis po ang pag-iimbestiga ng Ombudsman at ng DOJ (If there will be a People’s Independent Commission, we will see what happens to the ICI, since the ICI is also an independent, fact-finding commission that helps the executive branch speed up investigations by the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice),” Castro added.

Castro earlier said Marcos would let the ICI decide whether to continue its operations or conclude its mandate, adding that the President is willing to extend assistance, if the independent body makes a request.

ICI, created through Executive Order (EO) 94 issued by Marcos in September 2025, is mandated to investigate anomalous infrastructure projects implemented in the past 10 years. (PNA)