Finally, ICI agrees to livestream hearings
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) on Wednesday said it would livestream its investigative proceedings on the anomalous flood control projects beginning next week.
The ICI chair, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr., made the announcement during an organizational meeting held by the Senate committee on justice and human rights before taking up Senate Bill (SB) No. 1215.
The bill calls for the creation of an Independent People’s Commission (IPC) which, like the ICI, will be tasked to look into anomalies in government infrastructure projects.
‘Looking for a solution’
Despite the mounting public clamor, the ICI was initially reluctant to open its hearings to the public.
In remarks made on Sept. 28, ICI Executive Director Brian Keith Hosaka said the fact-finding body “is avoiding trial by publicity and will not allow it to be used for any political leverage or agenda by any individual or group.”
But Hosaka said the ICI was looking for a “solution that will both balance the request for more transparency and the protection of individual rights.”
At the Senate meeting on Wednesday, Reyes announced that the ICI will make its proceedings public.
“We don’t have the facility, we don’t have the rules of procedure, but we… will now go on livestream next week once we get to have the technical capability,” he said.
Fast-track IPC
Sen. Francis Pangilinan welcomed the ICI’s move, and also urged President Marcos to certify SB 1215 as urgent to fast-track the creation of a stronger body to probe government corruption.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III suggested adding more provisions in the IPC bill to give the proposed body more powers.
The bill should give the IPC the power to file cases, recommend persons for admission to the Witness Protection Program, and seek preventive suspensions and hold-departure orders on officials being investigated for corruption, Sotto said.
Its scope should also be “encompassing” and not limited to public infrastructure.
Bare minimum
At the House, minority lawmakers welcomed Reyes’ announcement as a “long-overdue” step toward transparency, but said the decision to livestream the ICI proceedings must be matched by genuine independence and accountability.
“The ICI has been basically shamed into heeding the call to livestream their proceedings,” said Kamanggagawa Rep. Elijah “Eli” San Fernando, the first lawmaker to formally petition the ICI open up its hearings. “Transparency through livestreaming is the bare minimum.”
The next challenge for the ICI, he stressed, is to prove it could “investigate everyone—even allies or those in the Palace,” and for the body to release minutes of previous hearings to prove it can act “independently and without political interference.”
Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima noted that “By making the ICI hearings public, it is no longer just the ICI that is investigating. The public will also be included in the review and weighing, not only of those they are investigating but also of how their investigation is progressing.”
Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon, cochair of the House infrastructure committee, said livestreaming would “enhance public discourse and strengthen accountability,” especially since both chambers of Congress have already aired their own respective inquiries.
PNP support
Also on Wednesday, the Philippine National Police said it had offered investigative and technical support to the ICI, particularly in the areas of engineering verification, forensic validation, and information systems development.
A police delegation met with the ICI at the commission’s Taguig City office on Tuesday to discuss the matter, the PNP said in a statement.
Hosaka earlier said the commission met with the PNP to discuss coordination regarding the validation of at least 421 “ghost” or nonexistent flood control projects nationwide that had so far been tagged in the investigation.
