Babes Singson: ICI powerless to act

Not enough powers. This was how outgoing Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) Commissioner Babes Singson assessed the investigative body tasked to probe multibillion-peso flood control corruption.

It’s a gargantuan task to investigate and also hold accountable powerful people involved in an intricate web of collusion and conspiracy to defraud the government.

“ICI as it is today doesn’t have enough powers to be able to execute as quickly as we can what we need to do,” Singson said on Thursday, December 4.

The 77-year-old former public works secretary disclosed in a press conference a day after he resigned the reason for his resignation from the ICI: what he described as “very intense and stressful…work.”

Singson compared the commission to an armless soldier going to war. “Walang budget. Kung baga lumaban ka sa gera. Solve-in mo ‘yung problema, hindi ka naman binigyan ng armas. Ano nangyari sa ’yo? Eh di nakatiwangwang ka. You cannot defend yourself.”

(There’s no budget. It’s like being sent to war and told to solve the problem without being given any weapons. What happens to you then? You’re left exposed, unable to defend yourself.)

The Department of Budget and Management only approved a P41.4-million budget for the commission in early November, around two months after its creation.

ICI Chairperson Andres Reyes Jr. previously said that some members of their legal team are volunteers.

Singson said the Philippines is far behind countries that have institutionalized anti-corruption bodies, citing Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption as benchmarks.

In contrast, he said, investigations in the Philippines require coordination with as many as 20 government agencies.

Because of the long and likely tedious legal process, Singson said that they have had to resort to administrative measures. This means that they had to meet with around 20 government agencies like the Philippine Competition Commission, he said.

The ICI is also dependent on the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines for field investigations, Singson said.

Last week, ICI’s powers were also questioned after several lawmakers managed to evade its livestreaming efforts by asking for executive sessions. Presidential son and Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Sandro Marcos was among those who asked for a closed-door hearing.

In addition, the commission is powerless to compel a person to appear before them. Case in point was Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte who declined the ICI’s invitation, asserting that it has no “power nor jurisdiction” over him.

Singson urged the Senate and House of Representatives to draft a bill creating an independent commission tasked to investigate corruption in the country. He hopes that the bill will become law before the year ends.

Singson said he hopes that also before yearend, there would be “a much stronger independent commission with proper powers and authorities that ICI doesn’t have.”

But will the Senate and House of Representatives, whose members have ties to contractors, pass a bill that will create a powerful commission to probe infrastructure corruption? Will they shoot themselves in the foot?

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– Rappler.com