To be honest, I’m in a dilemma over this. I very much want to trust that the ICI – the Independent Commission for Infrastructure – will really investigate anomalies in infrastructure projects, dig deep and get to the bottom of this monumental national thievery, expose and bring to justice the ones responsible, especially the Big Fishes, the puppet masters, even if – especially if – these include He Who Must Not Be Named.
At a recent event, I asked some of those at my table whether they trusted the ICI to do its job, and I got quite insightful answers. So I thought of doing an informal – and by no means scientific – survey and posted a message in several chat groups I’m part of asking two questions: (1) do you trust the ICI to really get to the bottom of this anomaly and charge the ones responsible? and (2) should the ICI hearings be made public (deliberations can be closed)? In two days I got 30-plus responses from what I can say is a pretty good sampling in terms of age (bagets, seniors and those in between) and occupation/profession (students, working folks, retirees).
To the first question of trusting the ICI, the response was overwhelmingly No – 23 against four yeses. One answer left no room for doubt: ‘Not at all.’ There were three who half trusted – one said he’s giving them the benefit of the doubt, hoping something will come out of this. Another said ‘hope springs eternal but the cynical part of me does not trust that the real top corrupt culprits will be brought to justice.’ The third gave a grudging yes, but was not enthusiastic about the chairman.
That last sentiment was shared by three others, who did not think retired Justice Andres Reyes Jr. was a good choice for chairman (one described him as ‘weak,’ another said ‘who he?’). One respondent said, ‘Magalong is gone, trust is gone, with apologies to Singson,’ referring to former ICI special adviser and investigator (yes, the first announcement of his appointment included this designation) Baguio City Mayor Benjie Magalong and former DPWH secretary Babes Singson. The third member of the ICI is SGV’s Rosanna Fajardo, a CPA who holds a professional certification as a Fraud Examiner.
One suggested including someone from civil society as a member of the commission. Another voiced frustration over the seemingly slow pace – much like our justice system, di ba? – of the ICI since its establishment a month ago by Executive Order 94, saying, ‘They have to do better; (DPWH Secretary Vince) Dizon and Magalong gave enough bullets, what more do they want?’
‘Hirap to get to the bottom of it kasi corruption in DPWH is a practice in every town in the country. In each town Vince D visits, merong discovery,’ said another.
With all the reports from investigations by various bodies – Senate and House committees, COA and AMLC, DPWH itself – turned over to them, as well as physical evidence from on-site inspections – including by the President – and supposed ‘tell-all’ testimonies of the stellar cast of miscreants (contractors and DWPH officials), so far the ICI has filed one complaint: against the missing Zaldy Co and his Sunwest Inc. over a P289.5-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro that was found to have used substandard materials, and some DPWH officials for certifying the project as completed and making full payment to the contractors.
On the question of making the hearings public, it was Yes for 25 and No for four. One didn’t give an answer because it ‘didn’t matter whether the hearings were made public or not.’ However, she added, ‘the annotated records for reference must be complete. So far, their communications to the public are weak and feeble.’
One said definitely public because she tunes in ‘the entire day every time there is a hearing.’ Other comments include public hearings ‘must be void of expensive food and huge allowances’ and ‘a foreign committee from a prestigious country should investigate.’
Opening the hearings to the public fosters transparency, which is most important in convincing people that nothing is being hidden: ‘The only way to restore trust is to show transparency; what do they have to hide?’ But, another says ‘witnesses might hold back when the hearing is made public’ or, as another says, ‘baka less intimidating if not open to the public.’ One person warns, ‘Even if the process appears transparent, there will still be back room deals.’
Three members of one family had different votes on the two questions: Yes/No, No/Yes, Yes/Yes. I would have loved to hear their discussions, but only the mother posted a comment: ‘In the Philippines, influence and money often determine outcomes. A person may be jailed but could still be released within a year.’ Sounds familiar?
Holding hearings behind closed doors ‘only adds fuel to the fire of coverup conspiracies,’ one said, adding, ‘Produce a required weekly report, with two times a week live on TV hearings. Just enough to not let the amnesiac population forget or want to move on to the next scandal.’ While admittedly such investigations take time as they have to be thorough and accurate, the public demands action – immediately if not sooner. So issuing comprehensive weekly reports might be a workable compromise.
We’ve had corruption scandals before, far too many, that’s for sure. And because the whole truth has never really been uncovered and the Big Fishes were never caught in the net of justice and fried in the hot oil of retribution, corruption in government not only continued but flourished.
So now we have what has been dubbed Flood-gate – and not just flood control but practically all government projects – roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, medicines, textbooks, computers, etc.
The breadth and magnitude of corruption is mind-boggling. Will this time, this scandal, be different? Is this the Big One that will shake the system to its core and finally, truly, bring significant and meaningful change for the better?
Perhaps there is hope. Singson said in a television interview yesterday they already have a ‘smoking gun’ against perpetrators, although he understandably did not give details as ‘we just don’t want to spook those we want to pursue.’
And the Big Fish? ‘As far as we’re concerned, we start from the top; we will let the agencies go after the small fries,’ Singson added. Here’s hoping they catch some barracudas and great white sharks.