Minority sounds alarm: Give ICI teeth now

Minority lawmakers renewed their call for Congress to swiftly pass pending bills aimed at strengthening the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI). 

Critics have argued that the body lacks the power to compel attendance in its multi-billion-peso flood control probe, while the proposed measures would also give legislators the option to testify in closed-door sessions.

Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon and Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno renewed the appeal to pass the Independent Commission Against Infrastructure Corruption (ICAIC) bill ahead of Congress’ month-long holiday break starting on 18 December. 

The opposition solons lamented the lack of subpoena and contempt powers of the Malacañang-created ICI, which invites open defiance from individuals and entities under investigation to evade scrutiny. 

For instance, Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte snubbed the ICI’s invitation to attend its investigation despite claiming that he has nothing to hide and is ready to be a subject of the flood control probe. 

His reason: the ICI “has no jurisdiction” to summon or compel a sitting member of the House, citing the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers. 

Another point of contention is the body’s practice of granting executive sessions to resource persons, mostly incumbent and former members of Congress, which effectively restricts public access to critical information regarding the anomalies in the flood control projects. 

Ridon and Diokno emphasized the urgent need to stop such practice, which critics claimed further erodes the body’s credibility, which is already at stake. They said Congress must pass the measures granting the ICI broader powers as soon as possible — ideally before the holiday recess next week — as these remain pending at the committee level in both the House and the Senate. Congress has only five session days left to pass the needed bills on final reading, narrowing the chances of the measure becoming law.

“Any invited resource person can lay out every excuse and every reason not to livestream or every excuse and every reason to call for an executive session,” Ridon stated partly in Filipino in an interview.

Speaker Bojie Dy has reportedly backed the House bill and vowed to persuade President Marcos to certify it as urgent. But Diokno stressed that the prospect remains uncertain despite months of assurances.

“We have long been calling the House leadership to bring this to plenary since it already passed through the committee two weeks ago. We are also puzzled as to why it has not been moved to plenary [for consideration and subsequent approval],” Diokno said in Filipino in a separate interview. 

The House Committee on Government Reorganization approved a substitute measure on 14 November that would establish the ICAIC — an independent body empowered to prosecute and hold individuals in contempt for defying lawful orders, including subpoenas and the submission of requested records.

The consolidated House bill seeks to grant ICAIC the authority to freeze, recover, and sequester assets of individuals and entities suspected of involvement in flood control corruption. The body could also issue hold-departure orders, place implicated government officials under preventive suspension, recommend the revocation of registrations of entities involved in the scandal, and obtain full and unrestricted access to all government records.

Senate President Tito Sotto filed a counterpart bill in the Senate, calling it an Independent People’s Commission. Both measures aim to strengthen ICI, created by President Marcos Jr. through Executive Order 94, by transforming it into a permanent law. Proponents of the bill posit that the ICI is a mere paper tiger, powerless and could become inutile, unless created by an act passed by Congress.

They argued that, unlike a body created by executive order, which exists solely at the President’s discretion, a commission established by law cannot be easily dissolved and would enjoy real institutional independence.

Since its creation in September, the ICI has faced criticism for its contentious rules and procedures, particularly its move to limit public access to hearings. The commission eventually heeded the clamor and livestreamed the proceedings. Still, its decision to grant resource persons an executive session continues to draw intense backlash, raising serious questions about its transparency. 

According to Ridon, the ICI should issue stringent rules on conducting executive sessions, and that it should only be accorded to a resource person if the information concerns national security and state secrets. 

Recently, Ombudsman Boying Remulla revealed that the ICI’s days are already numbered, and it is likely to be demolished by February. Ridon and Diokno, however, contended that it’s best to keep the ICI to assist the government in fast-tracking the case filing against the culprits of the fraudulent flood control projects.

ICI’s outgoing commissioner, Babe Singson, who recently voiced frustration about the body, made insinuations that the ICI lacked funding support from the government and that the commission only “existed in the newspapers.”