SEN. Panfilo Lacson said the resignation of Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) Commissioner Rossana Fajardo emphasized the need to pass a measure creating an Independent People’s Commission (IPC). The Senate president pro tempore on Saturday said the proposed IPC will institutionalize the ICI, tasked to investigate alleged anomalies in infrastructure projects. Fajardo on Friday resigned, effective Dec. 31, saying she had completed the work she set out to accomplish when she was appointed. Fellow commissioner Rogelio Singson resigned earlier this month, citing health reasons. Lacson said that while the ICI has been very helpful in gathering information that may lead to the prosecution and arrest of those involved in anomalous flood control projects, it is still an ad hoc body and is not permanent. “The bill creating the IPC must be passed to institutionalize the function of the ICI and make it part of the law of the land.... It needs a mandate,” he said in Filipino and English in a radio interview. Lacson said the IPC would address the challenges faced by the ICI commissioners, including the lack of immunity from suit, and the lack of the power to cite persons in contempt. “This is why the ICI merely referred cases to the Ombudsman instead of filing complaints against those involved — its commissioners have no immunity from suit and may face countercharges for doing their work,” he added. Lacson said the ICI helped in gathering information, with lawmakers heeding its invitations to appear and testify. He said the information gathered saved the Ombudsman time in building cases.