Ched Rick Gatchalian

Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan presides over a Senate hearing on February 1, 2018. Joseph Vidal, Senate PRIB/file

 

Article (news)

Pangilinan urges Marcos Jr. to certify Independent People's Commission bill as urgent

Francis Orcio

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 960px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1761117719874kiko pangilinan.jpg" style="width: 960px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan presides over a Senate hearing on February 1, 2018. Joseph Vidal, Senate PRIB/file"><span class="fr-inner">Sen. Francis &ldquo;Kiko&rdquo; Pangilinan presides over a Senate hearing on February 1, 2018. Joseph Vidal, Senate PRIB/file</span></span></span>MANILA &mdash; Sen. Kiko Pangilinan urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday to certify Senate Bill No. 1215 or the Independent People&#39;s Commission (IPC) bill as urgent to fast-track the creation of a stronger body to probe into corruption in infrastructure projects.</div><p>He said that would address strong public clamor to hold allegedly corrupt officials and personalities accountable.</p><p>During the public hearing of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Wednesday, Pangilinan opened the discussion on the IPC bill, which seeks to establish a permanent and non-partisan agency that will investigate government infrastructure programs, both local and national.</p><p>&quot;Kung maisasabatas ang komisyong ito, magiging mas malakas at mas malaya kumpara sa kasalukuyang [Independent Commission for Infrastructure] sa ilalim ng isang Executive Order,&quot; he said.</p><p>(If this commission is created by law, it will be stronger and more independent than the ICI created by Executive Order)</p><div><br></div><div><strong>IPC TO TAKE OVER FROM ICI</strong></div><p>Pangilinan said the IPC will investigate all government infrastructure projects across sectors, including education, flood control, disaster resilience, and agriculture.</p><p>If passed, the bill will create a five-member body that shall investigate a project within 60 days and publicize the results within 30 days.</p><p>Pangilinan said there would be safeguards like fiscal autonomy to protect the IPC from &ldquo;political interference.&rdquo;</p><p>He said it will be more empowered than the ICI, which Marcos recently established and tasked to investigate anomalous flood control projects.</p><p>The Committee on Justice and Human Rights&#39; hearing was held jointly with Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation, and Finance.</p><div><br></div><div><strong>DISCAYAS&#39; WITHDRAWAL OF COOPERATION</strong></div><p><strong></strong>Pangilinan said they pushed through with the hearing after contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya publicly stated they will no longer cooperate with the investigation on the flood control scam.</p><p>&quot;One of the reasons why we felt the need to conduct this hearing immediately, it was prompted by a news item wherein the spouses Discaya publicly said they will no longer cooperate with the ICI,&quot; he explained.</p><p>&quot;That sort of troubled this representation, given the huge controversy surrounding the biggest corruption scandal, you have persons refusing to cooperate, and publicly saying so,&quot; he stressed, adding that ICI should also be given more powers.</p><p>Discaya, whose firms are among the top 15 awarded flood-control projects,<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/15/discayas-back-out-from-cooperating-with-ici-on-flood-control-project-probe-1744">&nbsp;decided to back out from cooperating with the government&#39;s investigation</a> upon the advise of their counsel.</p><p>Brian Keith Hosaka, executive director of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, explained that the two withdrew their cooperation after learning that ICI member Rogelio &ldquo;Babes&rdquo; Singson, a former public works secretary, said in an interview by ABS-CBN News&#39; Karen Davila that he does not see anyone qualified to possibly be a state witness.</p><p>Singson said the Discayas are &quot;not the least guilty&quot;, calling them &quot;principal players&quot;.</p><div><br></div><div><strong>ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS</strong></div><p>Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente &quot;Tito&quot; &nbsp;Sotto III suggested adding more provisions in the IPC bill, including additional powers and making its hearings available to the public.</p><p>He said he hopes the bill will give the IPC the power to file cases, recommend inclusion in the Witness Protection Program, and seek preventive suspensions and hold-departure orders against officials suspected of corruption.</p><p>&quot;This IPC we would like to push for is not limited to infrastructure, it&#39;s encompassing. It&#39;s everything that would need investigation of the people in different sectors of government,&quot; Sotto added.</p><div><strong><br></strong></div><div><strong>&#39;TRULY INDEPENDENT&#39; BODY NEEDED</strong></div><p>Among those who attended as resource persons and backed the passing of the bill were former Senate President Franklin Drilon, retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno, and Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) Chairperson Andres Reyes Jr.&nbsp;</p><p>Puno urged the swift passage of Senate Bill No. 1215, stressing that the new body must be &ldquo;truly independent&rdquo; to confront what he described as a &ldquo;crisis of corruption threatening our harmony as a people and the future of democracy in our country.&rdquo;</p><p>He outlined four dimensions of independence that should guide the IPC&rsquo;s creation, legal autonomy, budgetary independence, operational freedom, and immunity from retaliation.</p><p>&nbsp;He recommended that the IPC chairperson be a retired Supreme Court justice nominated not by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines but by the association of retired justices themselves.</p><p>Puno also suggested clear guidelines on appointments, compensation, removal, and reappointment of members, along with a &ldquo;sunset provision&rdquo; to define its lifespan.</p><p>&nbsp;Puno further called for a hybrid kind of fiscal autonomy to ensure budgetary independence and warned against giving the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) control over financial decisions.</p><p>&ldquo;It is respectfully suggested that the bill should not only give the Commission the power to investigate but also the power to file the appropriate charges and the power to prosecute them,&rdquo; Puno said.</p><p>&ldquo;That is precisely the point why those bodies are so effective. They have the power to prosecute, not just to investigate,&rdquo; he added.</p><p>&nbsp;However, he clarified that the IPC cannot constitutionally exercise judicial powers, such as issuing hold-departure orders, which, he said, is a judicial power.</p><p>Ex-Senate President Franklin Drilon, on the other hand, supported the proposal but maintained that the IPC should only function as a fact-finding body with a limited term to avoid overlapping with the constitutional powers of the Ombudsman.</p><p>&ldquo;Under our system and our Constitution, the primary jurisdiction for investigation of anomalies is the Ombudsman,&rdquo; he added.</p><p>&nbsp;The former Senate president proposed that the IPC operate only until June 30, 2028, coinciding with the end of the current administration, to serve as an ad hoc response to current corruption issues.</p><p>&nbsp;&ldquo;We must strengthen our institutions of democracy that would exact accountability rather than keep on adding bodies,&rdquo; he said.</p><div><br></div><div><strong>&#39;TEDIOUS&#39; PROCESS BEFORE ANYONE GETS PUNISHED<br></strong></div><p>Reyes, in his speech, lamented the scale of corruption that the independent body is investigating.</p><p>&ldquo;This thing is outrageous &mdash; it makes me cry that... how can these people get away with [about] P500 billion? We (ICI) are only 39 days old, we only have three lawyers,&quot; he said.</p><p>He added the commission will &quot;try our best to conduct a full-blast investigation of all this fraud&quot; despite lacking facilities and formal rules for its proceedings.</p><p>The ICI submits recommendations to the Office of the Ombudsman based on testimony and documents submitted.</p><p>Reyes also said the ICI hearings will soon be available via online live streaming.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/22/ici-to-livestream-probe-after-transparency-calls-1439"><strong>ICI to livestream flood control probe after transparency calls</strong></a></div><p>&ldquo;We will go on livestream next week once we are able to get the technical capabilities in place,&rdquo; he added.</p><p>ICI member Singson, meanwhile, called the process of holding anyone accountable &ldquo;tedious&rdquo;, especially when compared to the Independent Commission Against Corruption in Hong Kong and Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau in Singapore, which, he said, have broader powers.</p><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WvmO3_dejD0?&wmode=opaque&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br></div>

<p>Sen. Kiko Pangilinan urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday to certify Senate Bill No. 1215 or the Independent People's Commission (IPC) bill as urgent, citing strong public clamor to hold allegedly corrupt officials and personalities accountable.</p>

Sen. Kiko Pangilinan urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday to certify Senate Bill No. 1215 or the Independent People's Commission (IPC) bill as urgent, citing strong public clamor to hold allegedly corrupt officials and personalities accountable.