Filipino businesses led by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), the country’s voice of business and domestic manufacturers, respectively, placed their hopes for a government system where corruption is punished and the corrupt are held accountable, a promise that lies on the members of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI).
In separate statements, PCCI and FPI commended the composition of the newly formed ICI to include – Former Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Rogelio “Babes” Singson and Former Chair of the Procurement Policy Board–Technical Support Office (PS- GPPB-TSO) Ms. Rossana Fajardo as commission members, and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong as special adviser who will act as investigator of the Commission. The three have been chosen by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for their proven competence and integrity.
“We stand ready to collaborate with the ICI where appropriate, and to support its mission of embedding integrity, efficiency, and accountability into the country’s infrastructure development — a vital foundation for sustained national growth,” the PCCI statement read.
With its strong legal foundation and credible composition, PCCI said the ICI can become a cornerstone institution for safeguarding public funds and ensuring that infrastructure projects deliver real value to the Filipino people.
On the part of the FPI, they cited the ICI composition a rare blend of execution know-how, forensic financial skills, and investigative rigor is exactly the kind of institutional muscle FPI has been calling for.
“It operationalizes our vision of a procurement and infrastructure ecosystem where compliance is rewarded, corruption is punished, and Philippine industry competes on quality—not on who can game the system,” said the FPI statement signed by Chairperson Elizabeth H. Lee.
The group said they have long long championed a clean, rules-based market to ensure a level playing field for compliant manufacturers, anchored on strict Philippine National Standards (PNS) compliance to protect legitimate producers from being undercut by substandard or smuggled goods.
The ICI’s independence, technical expertise, and investigative mandate—focused on uncovering and prosecuting anomalies in flood control and related DPWH projects from the last 10 years—directly reinforce this vision by ensuring that procurement and project execution are free from favoritism, fraud, and corruption, FPI added.
By holding accountable those who have compromised public works integrity, FPI said the ICI can help dismantle entrenched networks that inflate costs and distort competition. This will reduce the “corruption premium,” a key drag on competitiveness, enabling compliant firms to access cheaper financing for capital-intensive upgrades.
A cleaner procurement environment will also attract higher-quality bidders, many of whom are more likely to source from accredited local manufacturers, expanding market opportunities for FPI members.
Moreover, they said that transparent and accountable infrastructure spending—especially in critical flood control projects—will mean more works completed to specification, on time, and within budget, creating sustained demand for quality local inputs such as steel, cement, and fabricated components.
