Senator Kiko Pangilinan is looking to pass Senate Bill No. 1215, which will create the Independent People’s Commission (IPC) to investigate corruption in all government infrastructure projects for possible anomalies, as soon as possible.
In a recent radio interview, Pangilinan said that public clamor demands for a fact-finding body that would have more power to look into anomalous government infrastructure projects.
“Ang taong bayan nakakalungkot ang kanilang obserbasyon na wala naman nakukulong diyan, hanggang hearing lang.”
“Kailangan natin bilisan,” the veteran legislator added. “Ang taong bayan nakakalungkot ang kanilang obserbasyon na wala naman nakukulong diyan, hanggang hearing lang ‘yan, pero yung malalaking tao exempted sa criminal liability o kaya abswelto.”
The seasoned lawmaker, who chairs the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights and will sponsor S.B. 1215, has requested that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. certify the proposed measure as urgent to allow Congress to act swiftly on the bill.
“Kung ma-certify ng Pangulo as urgent, mas lalo magagawa ito.”
“Kung ma-certify ng Pangulo as urgent, mas lalo magagawa ito. Kinakailangan din natin habulin ang national budget debates sa Senate,” the senator pointed out.
“Pag nag umpisa na ang debate sa Senado sa budget, wala na ibang tinatalakay. Kinakailangan natin tiyakin na we will–as best as we can–pass this measure. And we hope susuportahan ng lahat ng senador itong measure na ito,” he stressed.
Pangilinan is also aiming to include the funding allocation for the IPC in the 2026 national budget.
The bill–authored by Senate President Tito Sotto III and Senators Erwin Tulfo and Risa Hontiveros–will create the non-partisan IPC that will possibly have contempt, subpoena, and freeze order powers.
The IPC will also cover all types of national and local government infrastructure projects in education, agriculture, flood control, disaster resilience, and many others.
Under the proposal, the investigation must be completed within 60 days and the report must be made available to the public within 30 days.
Currently, the corruption scandal involving infrastructure projects across the country is being investigated by an Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which was created by an executive order from the President.
But the fact-finding body is being criticized for not having contempt powers despite being allowed to issue subpoenas.
