Marcoleta: ICI not ‘truly independent’

Senator Rodante Marcoleta made a surprise appearance Sunday evening at the Iglesia ni Cristo’s “Rally for Transparency and Better Democracy” at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, becoming the first incumbent official to speak at the event.

He used the platform to criticize the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), questioning its independence.

“How can they claim to be independent when they keep asking for help from the House, the Senate, the Sandiganbayan, the courts, and other government offices?” Marcoleta asked.

He added that the ICI’s proceedings are not made public despite widespread public interest. He cited former Speaker Martin Romualdez’s private appearance before the ICI in October as an example.

“They really want to hide the truth. They twist it, bury it. Are we going to accept this kind of practice?” he asked.

Marcoleta has been raising concerns about the ICI since September and October, insisting that the commission should not solely rely on findings from other government entities, such as the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

The ICI was created as an independent body tasked with investigating alleged anomalies in flood-control projects, with the authority to recommend filing charges to relevant offices and courts.

Speaking on the broader impact of corruption, Marcoleta said the economy is suffering.

“Forty percent of investments meant to boost our economy have failed,” he said, pointing to the poor performance of the stock market. “Our peso is now almost P60 per dollar, the worst-performing currency in the region. Productivity in agriculture, tourism, and even retail is sluggish. This is the result of corruption — because they refuse to expose wrongdoing and avoid accountability.”

“What happened there caused low productivity in our agriculture, sluggish tourism, and slow trade. This is the result of corruption, because they don’t want to be exposed and only seek to evade accountability,” he added.

He also raised concerns over the 2026 national budget, noting that it is larger than the country’s projected revenue. The proposed P6.7-trillion budget exceeds the expected P5 trillion in revenue, forcing the government to borrow P1.7 trillion next year.

“That’s P142 billion per month, P4.7 billion per day, and P197 million per hour,” he said.