Lacson: Gov’t must beef up infra probe

The government campaign against corruption in infrastructure projects must not lose steam, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said Monday, urging Malacañang to support the creation of a stronger investigative body to replace the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

Lacson said the proposed Independent People’s Commission (IPC) would give investigators sharper tools, such as witness immunity and protection that the ICI lacks, to enable the government to build airtight cases against officials involved in anomalous public works projects.

Despite its limited mandate, the ICI, he noted, has already produced “useful information” that complements the efforts of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice.

“I wonder why Malacañang has lost its enthusiasm all of a sudden,” Lacson said. 

“I still believe 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 investigations and come up with solid cases against those responsible for the plunder of public funds,” he said.

Lacson noted that Congress has taken “positive steps” to back President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s push to uncover irregularities in flood control and other infrastructure projects.

“This, even when Congress has taken positive steps to follow the lead of the President in getting to the bottom of the unprecedented infrastructure anomalies never before unearthed by any of the past administrations,” he said.