The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) announced yesterday that it will begin livestreaming its investigation into the massive P500-billion flood control scandal starting next week.

ICI chairperson, former Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes Jr., made the disclosure during the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights’ organizational meeting to tackle Senate Bill 1215, which seeks to create an Independent People’s Commission (IPC) to probe anomalies in all government projects.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III proposed expanding the powers and transparency mechanisms of the ICI through the creation of the Independent People’s Commission (IPC) under Senate Bill 1215.

“We are only 39 days old. For 21 of those days, we only had three lawyers. But we will try our best to be able to conduct a full-blown investigation of all this fraud,” Reyes said.

“We don’t have the facility and we don’t have the rules of procedure. But we will shorten the procedure despite no rules allowing us. We will go live next week once we have the technical capability. Again, I repeat, we will be doing a livestream next week,” Reyes told the senators.

Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, welcomed the decision.

“That is welcome news that the ICI will do a livestreaming of its proceedings. People would like to know the facts of these cases and would like to be updated as to the developments and progress of the investigation,” Pangilinan said.

No trial by publicity

He noted that livestreaming the proceedings will address the public’s concerns.

Last month, ICI executive director Brian Keith Hosaka announced that the commission’s hearings would not be livestreamed, citing the need to prevent a “trial by publicity” and to shield the proceedings from political interference.

Asked to comment, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said the matter falls under the sole discretion of the ICI.

“That decision rests with the ICI. Whatever measures they choose to uphold the impartiality of the proceedings are entirely within their authority,” Castro said in Filipino.

The push for livestreaming reflects the widespread public frustration after revelations that over P500 billion in government funds may have been lost to corruption in infrastructure and flood control projects.

Systemic failure slammed

At the same hearing, former Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson, who served a full six-year term from 2010 to 2016, painted a grim picture of systemic failure across multiple agencies, implicating not only local bureaucrats but also high-ranking lawmakers and Cabinet officials.

He noted that 40 individuals have been invited to testify, including eight senators, four congressmen, and four Cabinet secretaries.

“I could not believe what I was hearing in terms of the magnitude of the corruption. And I tried to analyze where the system failed. It looked like it was all over. This is what we’ve learned so far. After we’ve called witnesses, I think a total of 40 plus have been invited,” Singson said.

“The procedure, the legal process that we have to follow, is so tedious,” he added.

Singson also lamented the sluggish pace of the country’s legal system, comparing it to international anti-corruption bodies such as Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption and Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

“They have much more power than all three of these agencies that we have combined,” he said.