Will the independent commission summon legislators too?

First of all, how independent and powerful is this presidential commission? Will it summon for investigation the Senate president and House speaker? Will it subpoena former DPWH secretaries Manuel Bonoan and Marc Villar? Or will it only single out the contractors who may just be small fry?

The success of this commission will depend on three factors: first, the credibility of personalities appointed to it; second, the soundness of what the commission shall be doing to fulfill its mission; and third, the correctness, fairness, and propriety of the results of its investigation. The people are sick and tired of many zarzuelas. The Philippines is now on the verge of following the path of Indonesia, a nation falling apart due to the corruption of its politicians.

With Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, former DPWH secretary Rogelio Singson, Mayor Benjamin Magalong and possibly former COA commissioner Heidi Mendoza, I have very high hopes. Bernabe was a Noynoy Aquino appointee who penned some of the landmark decisions. Singson is an expert on the workings of the DPWH and Mendoza is an unquestioned icon on good governance and public accountability, the people can trust this commission. Magalong's integrity is beyond reproach.

The chaos in Nepal and Indonesia are precursors of the possible turbulence again here. Of course, Indonesia is copying our EDSA People Power revolution. But that’s another story. What matters most today is that the president has done the right thing in creating a supposedly independent commission to diffuse the growing outrage of the people. The Senate investigation isn’t truly independent because a number of senators might have links to contractors and DPWH bureaucrats. The same is true with the House. Many congressmen could be part of the grand scheme.

The new DPWH secretary did the right thing in denouncing what former secretary Bonoan created, an in-house investigating committee that could only whitewash the shenanigans. Any freshman Law student can tell you alleged culprits cannot investigate themselves. It is like St. Peter appointing Judas Iscariot to head an investigation commission, composed of Caiphas, Annas, Pilate, and Barabbas to determine who was at fault for crucifying Jesus.

The first test of the independence of this Commission is: will it summon former Senate president Chiz Escudero and his fellow Bicolano contractor who admitted having donated ?30 million to the senate president's campaign fund? Or to Sen. Joel Villanueva who allegedly also received campaign contributions from another contractor? Or Sen. Bong Go who admitted that a family corporation whose name sounds like his initials had a tie-up with Discaya companies?

Will this commission also summon Sen. Mark Villar, the former DPWH secretary who promoted that district engineer in Bulacan immediately fired by newly-appointed DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon? That engineer admitted before the legislative investigation signing documents leading to full payment of alleged ghost projects. He also admitted gambling twice a month or more in a casino.

Will that commission subpoena presidential first cousin and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and House leaders like Dong Gonzales, Mannix Dalipe, Gigi Suarez, and Stella Quimbo as resource persons to shed light to the investigation and expose the whole truth? And above all Zaldy Co, the honorable member of the House appropriations committee who opted to fly to the US for alleged medical treatment while the House is on fire?

Will the commission also summon former senator Grace Poe who allegedly led the Senate contingent that did the bicam together with the House contingent and which supposedly gave birth to many surreptitious insertions? If this commission is just going to give the people a show or a "pakitang tao" I would offer unsolicited advice. Better do a good job or else this will boomerang right in the face of the president and yours too. Enough of what Sen. Imee Marcos and VP Sara call zarzuela.

The people are sick and tired, angry and outraged. The committee better do that job well and credibly or their work would just exacerbate the growing social tension on the ground. This is going to explode more violently than Indonesia. I am calling on our students, youth, civil society, religious leaders, the academe, and professionals to voice out their outrage within the bounds of law, and avoid bloodshed. We should follow the peaceful revolution of EDSA, Gandhi, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This commission can either save our nation from possible bloodshed or people power revolution or hasten the revolutionary fervor of an angry people.