Marcos not keen on bill creating independent commission
President Marcos isn’t keen on certifying as urgent congressional bills that seek to add more teeth to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), if not make it permanent.
The ICI’s fate has suddenly come into question after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said last Friday that it may last only up to February, after which its main function of digging into public works corruption will be transferred to the antigraft body.
Bills are pending before Congress seeking to add more teeth to the fact-finding body. They include Senate President Vicente Sotto III’s Bill No. 1215, which seeks to ensure that the executive order creating the ICI will become a permanent law.
Sotto had earlier said that he would ask the President to certify as urgent his bill, which proposes to rename the ICI as Independent People’s Commission with the same mandate, but consisting of five members who will serve for three years, and may be reappointed for another three years once.
“If Congress will pass a law creating [such a body], we just hope that its constitutionality would not be questioned because it may cause redundancy in functions of other government agencies,” Malacañang press officer Claire Castro said over dzBB.
Limited powers
“The Ombudsman and DOJ (Department of Justice) are already mandated to conduct hearings and evaluate probable cause. They will be the ones to file a case with the Sandiganbayan or any court,” she added.
As a fact-finding body, the ICI’s power is limited to conducting hearings, taking testimony, and receiving, gathering, reviewing, and evaluating evidence, reports and information before recommending the filing of charges to the Office of the Ombudsman.
It has recommended the filing of charges against former Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. and resigned Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, among others, for their role in the alleged collusion among senators, congressmen, public works officials and private contractors to pocket billions of pesos from flood control projects.
Minority lawmakers from the House of Representatives also wanted the President to certify as urgent House Bill No. 4453, which seeks to grant ICI subpoena powers that cover all branches of government as well as unrestricted access to government records. It also seeks to equip the body with the power to cite in contempt individuals who ignore subpoenas.
Castro reiterated that the President doesn’t want the ICI to have contempt powers, arguing that its function is not to penalize uncooperative resource persons.
She added that Mr. Marcos also does not see the urgency to expedite bills seeking to expand the ICI’s mandate since Congress “is working quickly to pass it.”
More authority
A presidential certification on the urgency of a measure allows its approval on second and third reading on the same day in the Senate and House. With such a certification, lawmakers can pass the ICI legislation before they adjourn for the holidays on Dec. 20.
Rogelio Singson, who is stepping down from the ICI by year-end, citing stress and security reasons, has urged Congress to pass a law to strengthen the body and give it more authority so that it can conduct a speedier probe and go after the “big fish” in the corruption scandal.
Castro said the President has yet to discuss Remulla’s pronouncement about the ICI’s expiring mandate with the Cabinet.
Delayed funding
“We have not yet discussed if the ICI’s mandate will end in two month’s time, because we have seen that ICI has provided significant assistance in the ongoing anticorruption investigations,” she said.
Malacañang also defended the delays in the release of funding for the ICI.
According to Castro, the special allotment release order for the P41-million initial operating funding for the ICI was approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) back in September.
But the DBM only issued the notice for cash allocation allowing the ICI to withdraw cash from the bank only on Friday, a day after Singson exposed the lack of funding.
“The budget of the ICI is already in its bank account. There were just delays on the creation of the ICI’s bank account and completion of documentary requirements to transfer the money to the ICI’s bank account,” Castro said.
