SENATE President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Monday expressed concern over what he described as Malacañang’s “sudden loss of enthusiasm” for the proposed creation of an independent commission to investigate alleged large-scale anomalies in public infrastructure projects.
The commission, initially welcomed by the administration as a mechanism to institutionalize an independent fact-finding process, was envisioned to assist the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in building airtight cases against officials implicated in the misuse of public funds. It is also viewed as an institutional and permanent replacement for the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) created by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“I wonder why Malacañang’s enthusiasm is lost all of a sudden,” Lacson said in a statement. “I still believe that the ICI is serving its purpose in flushing out useful information, to say the least, for the Ombudsman and DOJ to proceed with their preliminary investigation and come up with solid cases against those responsible for the plunder of public funds.”
Lacson added that Congress has taken “positive steps” to follow the president’s earlier commitment to uncover the “unprecedented infrastructure anomalies” that surfaced through recent hearings, irregularities he said had not been unearthed in past administrations.
He emphasized that abandoning or delaying the creation of the independent commission could undercut the government’s early momentum in pursuing accountability.
The proposed independent commission aims to operate outside existing political structures, patterned after earlier ad hoc bodies created to investigate major corruption scandals.
Advocates of the measure argue that an autonomous panel would help shield the inquiry from political pressure and enhance public confidence in its findings.
Despite reported reservations from the executive branch, Senate leaders signaled that the chamber intends to move forward.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said they would pursue the bill.
“They have yet to study it anyway. We can discuss it with them at the proper time.”
Sotto noted that the legislative process would allow for further consultation with the Palace and the DOJ, suggesting that any concerns over the commission’s mandate or structure could still be addressed during deliberations.
Administration officials have not yet issued an explanation for their hesitancy, though sources earlier indicated that Malacañang is reviewing whether existing mechanisms, such as interagency task forces and investigative units, may already be sufficient for probing the alleged anomalies.
