Given the suspension of Senate and House hearings on the flood control mess to give way to the probe of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, an opposition lawmaker renewed calls for the ICI to livestream its probe.
‘This is not what we expected from the ICI. When we say independent commission, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will have to do it by its lonesome, or they should do it solo,’ House Deputy Minority Leader and ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said over the weekend.
‘With the House infra comm joint inquiry already suspended, and no hearing yet scheduled by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, Filipinos are eager to know the current status and the pacing of the investigation,’ she added.
The former senator and justice secretary also took a swipe at President Marcos amid the flood control controversy.
‘This hardheadedness of the ICI, is this also what the President really wants?’ she asked. ‘If he is one with the clamor for transparency, we call on the President to urge the ICI – created through his Executive Order 94 – to livestream its hearings.
‘A fact-finding body like the ICI, dealing with matters of such importance must be transparent and open. People need to know what’s happening to allay fears and dispel any suspicion of a potential cover-up or whitewash,’ De Lima warned.
Las Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos echoed De Lima’s sentiments, emphasizing that publicizing the hearings ‘will promote transparency, accountability, and fairness.’
‘This is why the ICI should consider livestreaming its hearings – so that the people themselves can see what’s really happening. If only the proceedings were livestreamed, then no such thing could have happened,’ Santos said, pertaining to an alleged outburst of a former cabinet member during an ICI hearing last week.
‘Why the secrecy? It should be made public. The people have the right to know. It’s taxpayers’ money,’ he stressed.