Push for law giving ICI more teeth won’t stop
President Marcos will be “playing with fire” if he vetoes legislation seeking to add more teeth to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), former Senate President Franklin Drilon warned on Monday.
“Congress should create an independent fact-finding ICI with a sunset clause. People are angry at the massive corruption and will get angrier if the ICI bill is vetoed. PBBM (Marcos) is playing with fire,” Drilon said in a statement.
The President wasn’t keen on certifying as urgent Senate Bill (SB) No. 1215 and House Bill (HB) No. 4453, which both seek the creation of a fact-finding body that has the powers to subpoena individuals and documents, cite individuals in contempt, and recommend immunity for witnesses.
Palace press officer Claire Castro said the creation of another fact-finding body might duplicate the functions of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ), and invite legal challenges before the courts.
The bills have suddenly gained more significance after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said last Friday that the ICI might last only up to February next year, after which its main job of digging into anomalous flood control projects would be transferred to the antigraft body.
Sotto’s bill
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he would still pursue his proposal to create a powerful Independent People’s Commission (IPC) under SB 1215 to investigate all kinds of anomalies despite the President’s apparent lack of enthusiasm to certify it as urgent.
“Yes, we will [pursue it]. They have yet to study it anyway. We can discuss it with them at the proper time,” Sotto said in a statement, adding that the proposed IPC can continue the work of the current ICI.
Contempt powers
Sotto’s bill seeks to create a five-member IPC that can investigate “motu proprio” anomalies in all government infrastructure projects, and subpoena individuals and documents, recommend the grant of immunity for witnesses, and recommend charges against erring individuals.
On the other hand, HB 4453 also seeks to create a five-member Independent Commission Against Infrastructure Corruption to investigate the misuse of funds for flood control and other infrastructure projects.
But it has the power to cite people in contempt “for refusal to obey orders,” on top of the same powers envisioned for the Senate’s proposed IPC.
It is authored by Representatives Leila de Lima, Adrian Michael Amatong, Arlene Bag-ao, Percival Cendaña, Chel Diokno, Edgar Erice, Jaime Fresnedi, Dadah Kiram Ismula, Cielo Krisel Lagman, Paolo Henry Marcoleta, Elijah San Fernando, and Alfonso Umali Jr.
The public is closely watching the body’s next move after recommending the filing of charges against former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., resigned Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co and other congressmen, among others, for their alleged involvement in schemes to profit off substandard or “ghost” flood control projects.
Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson wondered why the President wasn’t keen on the bill creating an independent fact-finding body like Sotto’s IPC.
“I wonder why Malacañang’s enthusiasm is lost all of a sudden. I still believe that the ICI is serving its purpose in flushing out useful information, to say the least, for the Ombudsman and DOJ to proceed with their preliminary investigation and come up with solid cases against those responsible in the plunder of public funds,’’ he said in a statement.
