ICI eyes livestream compromise

MANILA, Philippines — With persistent calls from the public for livestreaming of the investigation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), the special fact-finding body may settle for a compromise: either holding regular press briefings or livestreaming, but only of general information.

In an interview yesterday, ICI member former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) chief Rogelio Singson said the body may share information drawn from proceedings “where we have critical witnesses that we want to really get as much information with proper documentation, pictures, whom they talked to, and so on.”

“Other sessions, if we can only expect general information, we can livestream that,” Singson added.

ICI executive director Brian Keith Hosaka earlier said the body may hold regular press conferences to update the public on the status of investigations. Pressure is mounting on the ICI to livestream its probe in the name of transparency.

House Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Leila de Lima said publicizing the commission’s investigation is necessary, especially now that the House infrastructure committee has suspended its probe on the issue, while the Senate Blue Ribbon committee’s next hearing is a month away.

Las Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos said livestreaming would prevent the spread of rumors, citing one on Sen. Mark Villar’s alleged outburst while being interviewed by the ICI.

For Sen. Francis Pangilinan, the ICI should not test the people’s patience in their quest for truth. “One day, the people might be rallying in front of the members’ homes,” he said.

But Singson defended the commission’s defiance in keeping its hearings behind closed doors.

“We’re like police,” he said. “Have you seen officers investigating while the media is covering? We’re trying to get as much information and they have to sign off affidavits and exhibits, so when we complete a particular case, it will stand with the ombudsman.”

The commission recently formed an ad hoc communications team, as it continues to build the organization.

Singson is one of the three members of the ICI, along with retired associate justice Andres Reyes Jr. and auditor Rossana Fajardo.

The former public works chief, who served throughout the Aquino administration, also revealed they have already obtained a “smoking gun” against perpetrators in its one month of investigating the multibillion-peso corruption in flood control projects.

“We just don’t want to spook those we want to pursue,” he said, explaining his reason for not sharing details.

“As far as we’re concerned, we start from the top; we will let the agencies go after the small fries,” he said.

‘Low-hanging fruits’

Hosaka, meanwhile, said the ICI is eyeing 15 to 20 cases for filing with the Office of the Ombudsman within the next three weeks, initially against “low lying fruits” or perpetrators of ghost flood control projects deemed most liable.

“We are more organized now, we know what to look for initially and these are the ghost projects,” Hosaka said at a briefing yesterday.

The ICI has given itself up to a month to assess cases before referring them to the ombudsman, Hosaka said.

He also said there are no indications former congressman Zaldy Co will honor a subpoena requiring him to appear before the commission today. “Right now, the only option we have would be to cite him in contempt, but that’s going to be a challenge knowing that he’s not in the country right now,” Hosaka said.

With ghost flood control projects now identified, validators will visit each project for technical inspection and documentation audit.

“We look into whether the location is really true and how much each flood control project is supposed to be,” ICI special adviser Rodolfo Azurin Jr. explained.

“We tapped the engineers of DPWH, as well as the engineering brigade of the AFP. We are also tapping other volunteer engineers, who are welcome to help because many projects need validation,” he added.

After technical validation, the ICI will begin building cases by completing necessary documentation, after which all cases ripe for prosecution would be forwarded to the ombudsman.

Azurin, for now, will not personally join the onsite validation and will instead focus on collating documents.

The 8,000 flood works initially assessed are just a fraction of the 238,200 total from 2016 to 2025 that the ICI needs to evaluate. Twelve percent or close to 30,000 were flood control projects.

Roads and multi-purpose buildings make up the chunk of the nation’s infrastructure, comprising roughly 64 percent.

“Once we fix the processing of flood control projects, we will look into the others because the mandate of the ICI covers all infrastructure,” Azurin said.

In an interview with GMA Integrated News, Azurin said there is no reason to suspect the credibility of his fellow ICI members.

“Let’s give them complete trust because they have not retired or reached their positions if their integrity is in question,” Azurin said.

Ping: Reinforced ICI

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, meanwhile, is urging the administration to “reinforce” the ICI, saying it is “under-resourced” in the face of “overwhelming” anomalous infrastructure projects linked to Discaya-owned firms alone.

“At the rate the number of substandard, uncompleted and even ghost infrastructure projects being attributed to the Discaya-owned firms keeps piling up, the ICI may not be able to cope with the complexity and enormity of the problem at hand,” Lacson said.

“Hence, the national government, including Congress, must reinforce the Commission with adequate personnel and logistical resources, even additional legal power and authority by way of legislation so they can accomplish their assigned tasks,” he added.

Asked if he believes the ICI can hold powerful figures accountable, Lacson said the agency needs greater support to sustain its investigation.

“With the present setup – lack of personnel and logistical resources – the ICI will be overwhelmed by the magnitude and complexity of the problem it is facing, if not already overwhelmed,” he said.

“They need to be reinforced, even to the point of empowering them with more legal authority by way of legislation,” he added.

Lacson said the government cannot rely on the ICI alone and must adopt a whole-of-government strategy to pursue those behind the “unprecedented misuse and abuse of public funds.”

“If we really intend to prosecute, convict and recover their loot, including their cohorts in Congress and the Department of Public Works and Highways and other implementing agencies similarly responsible, a whole-of-government approach is extremely necessary, not later, but now,” he said. — Neil Jayson Servallos, Helen Flores