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Many concerned Filipinos are asking how could such highly-controversial characters like the Discaya couple, Usec. Roberto Bernardo, district engineer Henry Alcantara, and assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez are being seriously considered to turn state witness? Are these people going to be allowed to go scot-free just like that?

It’s important that people be educated about the Witness Protection Program pursuant to Republic Act No 6981. People should know the rationale or the purpose of this program as enunciated by the law institutionalizing it.

It should be clarified that not all who want to avail of this program may be granted such a privilege. The Department of Justice has the power to approve or to deny. There are requirements that must be complied with. First, the applicant must have personal knowledge of the acts and omissions constituting the crime and has executed a sworn statement or testified under oath and is willing to become a witness for the prosecution. Second, he must not be the most guilty.

Third, that he, in connection with his knowledge of the offense, or any member of his family within the second civil degree of consanguinity is subjected to threats to his life, or bodily injury, or there is a likelihood that he will be killed, forced, intimidated, harassed, or corrupted to prevent him from testifying.

The last requirement is that the witness isn’t a law enforcement officer, even if he would be testifying against the other law enforcement officers. In such a case, only the immediate members of his family may avail themselves of the prosecution provided for under this Act. RA 6981 provides that if the DOJ is convinced, after examination of said applicant and after looking at some other relevant facts, that the requirements of the law are fully complied with, the DOJ shall admit the said applicant to the Witness Protection Program. At that point, the witness shall be required to execute a sworn statement detailing his knowledge or information on the commission of the crime and issue the proper certification.

It’s explicitly provided under Section 4 of the said law that resource persons who testify as witnesses before the Senate or the House in investigations in aid of legislation may be admitted into the Witness Protection Program, if he or she so desires, and as recommended by the committee where the testimony was given. The committee recommendation to that effect should be approved by the Senate president or the speaker of the House as the case may be. Based on this specific provision, the Discayas, Bernardo, Alcantara, and Hernandez may be admitted as state witnesses.

The admitted witnesses should have, as a condition precedent, signed a memorandum of agreement containing his obligations, as follows: first, he should testify before and provide information to all appropriate law enforcement officials concerning all appropriate proceedings in connection with or arising from the activities in the offense charged. Second, the witness should avoid committing any crime. Third, the witness should take all necessary precautions to avoid detection by others of the facts concerning the protection provided to him. Fourth, he or she should comply with legal obligations and civil judgments against the said witness.

Fifth, the witness must cooperate with respect to all reasonable requests of officers and employees of the government. Lastly, the witness should always keep the DOJ informed of his whereabouts and activities. It’s also important that the witness’s testimony is really essential to secure the conviction of the more guilty perpetrators of the crime and accused in the case. Also, when he or she is the most guilty, then admission to the program can be denied or withdrawn by the DOJ.

There’s also no assurance that the state witness can be 100% sure that he will not face other criminal and civil cases if and when the facts turn out to warrant a finding of guilt or bad faith. Being a state witness isn’t an absolute shield against prosecution and conviction. Neither is it a total and absolute protection against the retaliation of those who were adversely affected by the state witnesses’ testimony. It is still risky and extremely hazardous.

To become a state witness is to take hold of a double-edged sword. One edge may achieve one’s objectives. The other may not only harm or destroy his strategic goal but even hurt the persons involved in the administration of justice. Think about it. This is a highly-intricate nuance of law.

As the rainy season starts, doing laundry can become a struggle for a lot of us. Clothes take longer to dry, and they often have that musty, kulob smell that makes laundry experience a hassle.

But having no sun doesn’t mean you should bear with damp, smelly clothes. Despite the gloomy weather, there are still some ways to help keep your clothes clean and fresh this rainy season, and that includes changing some habits you thought were harmless to your laundry.

That is why home solutions brand, Midea, is here to help you with the right practices and appliances so you can keep those laundry woes at bay.

Don’t store damp clothes too long

It might seem harmless to delay doing laundry on rainy days, but leaving your damp clothes unwashed for too long can result in a kulob smell.

Midea suggests washing your damp clothes as soon as possible and making sure to dry them thoroughly. A washer-dryer combo can be helpful to get both steps done in one process, saving your time and your clothes from having an unpleasant smell.

For instance, the Midea Luna Inverter Series Fully Automatic Front Load Combo Washing Machine, by its name, has both a washer and dryer. It is powered by HealthGuardS feature that enables faster, stronger washes and pre-wash Steam Care for 99.99% sterilization.

Beat the smell and stains with DIY fixes

That kulob smell can be stubborn, especially in wet seasons when there’s no sunlight to dry clothes, and while fabric conditioner helps, sometimes it is not enough. For an extra boost, consider adding vinegar to your rinse cycle.

And if you’re dealing with muddy stains and tagulamin or mildew, there’s a simple DIY trick you can try at home. Mix equal parts of vinegar and baking soda to create a paste, gently scrub it on the affected area, let it sit for 30 minutes, then rinse to make stubborn stains easier to wash.

Remove the clothes after the cycle ends

One of the habits we usually and admittedly do is to let a finished load sit in the washer or dryer for too long. Surprisingly, while the clothes are already cleaned, leaving them in the washing machine more than necessary can cause that musty smell that everybody hates.

This is where smart appliances come in handy. The Midea Luna Inverter Series with its Wi-Fi Control feature can monitor the wash cycle through smartphones and operate your washing machine anytime, anywhere at your fingertips.

Invest in an efficient washer-dryer combo

The right appliance makes all the difference during the rainy season. The Midea Luna Inverter Series Fully Automatic Front Load Combo Washing Machine is designed for convenience, energy savings, and hygienic cleaning-no matter the weather.

Apart from its reliable features-such as HealthGuardS, which works with Auto Clean and Steam Care, and WiFi Control-this automatic washer-dryer combo also uses Inverter Quattro technology to help save energy with every load.

The Auto Clean feature keeps the drum sterilized to prevent secondary contamination, ensuring consistently high washing performance.

In line with its commitment to helping Filipinos discover happiness at home, Midea continues to innovate and deliver smart and quality solutions that make everyday chores more convenient, rain or shine.

Gretchen Ho has more questions, especially on the Philippines as a high risk country, after she received a call from the Norwegian ambassador.

Gretchen’s post about her senior citizens kin being snubbed at a foreign exchange counter in Norway’s Oslo Airport went viral yesterday.

The host said her kin were denied to exchange their $300 for krone upon hearing that they were from the Philippines, citing corruption and money laundering.

The ambassador told Ho that he was surprised about the incident and said it should not have taken place. He will be meeting with the Norwegian foreign ministry to address the issue.

Ho shared the context behind her viral post. She cited the Philippines being removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list in February this year after four years on the list.

The FATF is an intergovernmental body established by G7 countries that combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. The Philippines was included in the FATF grey list in 2021.

Gretchen asked in light of the recent incident if the Philippines is back on the FATF high-risk list for money laundering and dirty money, and if it is not the case, she wondered if it was the financial institution’s internal policy on tourists from the Philippines. She also expressed concern on how this incident will influence Filipinos’ future travels.

‘We want to get some clarity on this, if there is a new policy, given recent events, or just a failure to update and disseminate information. I believe getting some clarity would help not just our family, but other Filipinos who have shared similar experiences at the same airport in Oslo, saying they have been declined foreign exchange services upon knowing their country of origin is the Philippines.

‘So are we back on the ‘high-risk’ list for money laundering? Or is this an overeager clerk who was simply not updated on the grey list?’ Gretche wrote.

The issue of corruption has been the talk of the town, with the Senate and Congress conducting their own investigations on the alleged anomalous government flood control projects.

Investigations are still ongoing, with many Filipinos watching the livestreamed sessions wondering when will there be individuals and parties, including high-profile personalities, found guilty and put to jail.

The September 21 rallies in Metro Manila and key cities in the country drove thousands of people from all walks of life chanting an end to systemic corruption.

Another wave of protests are already planned on November 30, the 162nd birth anniversary of Filipino revolutionary hero Andres Bonifacio.

In consideration of those affected by recent typhoons and the earthquake that jolted Cebu, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has extended the validity of motor vehicle registrations and driver’s licenses that expired on Sept. 30.

LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said he has directed all regional and district offices to implement the extension and to waive fines or surcharges for late renewals.

‘This is in consideration of the cancellations of government work caused by the recent typhoons and the earthquake that struck Cebu,’ Mendoza said in a statement.

He said the move is part of the LTO’s efforts to ease the burden on the public, particularly motorists who were unable to process their license and registration renewals.

The LTO also extended until Oct. 15 the settlement of traffic apprehension fines.

Today’s column title can apply to the crumbling leadership and integrity of the Senate, it could apply to the many commercial buildings in Bogo, Cebu that crumbled or crashed during the recent earthquake or the Piggatan bridge in the town of Alcala, Cagayan.

Built to break could be ‘by design,’ poor choices or simply by mismanagement. Sadly, it is Filipinos who suffer the consequences – directly or indirectly – with lives, lost wealth or progress.

The Senate has gone through three Senate presidents – Zubiri, Escudero and now Sotto. The new Senate Blue Ribbon committee is now destined to have a rotation from Marcoleta to Lacson to I don’t know who. In contrast their multi-billion building remains unfinished.

What nobody is talking about is where did the disruption in the Senate begin. Or who is the ‘Disruptor?’ Listening to the ‘elected’ and ‘appointed,’ it is apparent that President Bongbong Marcos greatly influenced the changes, based on what Sen. Sotto said regarding a conversation with PBBM.

While Malacañang will disavow this to hell, ‘the testimony of many’ (senators) tells us otherwise. In truth, there is no real separation of powers in the Philippines. It is all about the political majority and who is president.

As far as the ruling party or PBBM is concerned, there are only two major political concerns: the impeachment of Sara Duterte and protecting President Marcos Jr. from the stain of theft and shame now spreading like a virus over government.

Those agendas, however, have become so intertwined that the overhaul of the Senate leadership has turned into a political minefield. You can’t touch one raw nerve without triggering the other. Any wrong move or negative perception by the public can become a political career ender.

And so, we are where we are, you have a thinly split Senate where political colors and alliances are blurred and even questionable, where the once congenial body has turned into a daily dog fight with utter loss of respect and honor.

Meanwhile, here are two important lessons for PBBM and the senators: ‘He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise.’ (Proverbs 11:29)

In the context of ‘casting out undesirables:’ ‘Now. when the pharisees heard it, they said, ‘this fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons.”

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: ‘Every Kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.’

There was a time when a hollow block was proudly ‘Jackbilt,’ meaning the company placed its reputation behind hollow blocks that surpassed industry standards for strength and load bearing walls.

But nowadays, any enterprising fellow can put up a backyard hollow block making plant with no permit, no safety standards, not even government rules on the sand-to-concrete ratio or how many days to sun dry homemade hollow blocks.

Having ‘built’ two resorts and two homes, I myself have had issues with adulterated imported cement, hollow blocks that crack and crumble because of low cement content with brown sand or muddy river sand.

Now we have steel bars that may or may not pass Bureau of Standards tests, and we can add to that substandard steel bars made from induction furnaces banned but imported from China.

After the destructive earthquake that hit Bogo, Cebu, I got to watch videos of government buildings, commercial establishments, as well as many homes that crumbled during the magnitude 6.9 earthquake.

While a magnitude 6.9 earthquake is highly destructive, I could not ignore the fact that many of the structures I saw were ‘all flesh and no bones’ – or showed inadequate steel reinforcement.

The front columns of a government office revealed that the palitada or plaster was two times thicker that the concrete post it was covering, obviously to make the column ‘big.’

I thought that the more modern and commercial establishments would be better off but were not. I assume that builders cut corners in terms of amount of steel bars used or the quality of those round bars.

Earthquakes are one thing, but quality and safety standards are within human control. When the local construction and cement industry complained about adulterated imported cement, it took government a while before clamping down.

The same problem happened to backyard-made hollow blocks and an effort was made among local governments to clamp down on these. Unfortunately, it was ningas cogon or a short-lived blaze that died.

Last year and this year, the media called out the problems regarding imported steel bars and conduction furnaces that do not eliminate impurities, resulting in low-grade round bars that easily snap or break where the impurities are.

The DTI tries to do its best but being undermanned and underfunded, they are barely able to scratch the surface or cover all the regions in the Philippines. Congress needs to enact stricter laws regarding imported steel and totally ban the use and importation of induction furnaces.

Lastly, we also need to be stricter on the management side so that major bridges don’t crumble one after another like the Cabangan bridge in Isabela and the Piggatan bridge in Alcala, Cagayan province. Is it poor construction or poor management against overloading?

Popularly called bottoms up budgeting, or BUB for short, it first made its mark during the administration of the late President Benigno Simeon ‘PNoy’ Aquino III. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), headed then by ex-Batanes representative turned secretary Florencio ‘Butch’ Abad, came up with this catchy term. Launched in 2012 by the DBM, BUB was acknowledged as a key budget reform measure.

Described as ‘grassroots participatory budgeting,’ this involved local communities and citizens being given a say in identifying and prioritizing projects to be funded by the national budget. BUB encourages and promotes participation of local government units (LGUs) to help identify and recommend priority programs and projects for possible funding in the annual budget of the national government. The role of the LGUs in BUB is through their respective regional development councils (RDCs), which are composed of the provincial mayors in each region.

Some of the flood control projects earlier found defective and substandard were undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) without prior consultation with LGU executives. Cases in point were those of Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerlito Dolor and the various LGU executives in many of the flood-prone areas in Bulacan.

Mayor Belmonte discovered to her dismay several flood control projects were undertaken without prior consultation with the city government. The worse part of it, Mayor Belmonte found out from residents in these areas, is that they did not experience flooding in the past. But after the DPWH built these supposed flood mitigating structures, these areas in Quezon City get flooded at the slightest rainfall. On inspection of flood control projects in the province, Gov. Dolor found defective, if not sub-standard cement, iron bars and other materials were used.

All this time, the BUB system was supposedly followed by the DBM in the preparation of the yearly budget, or the General Appropriations Act (GAA) bill submitted to Congress. Called ‘the President’s budget,’ it contains the priorities identified in the National Expenditure Program (NEP). Thus, the proposed budget bill each year is a ‘must’ in the priority measures presented by the President for inclusion in the common legislative agenda with Congress.

But to Abad’s immediate predecessor, erstwhile DBM secretary Benjamin Diokno, BUB was nothing but a buzzword. For Diokno, now senior Monetary Board member, the BUB concept only narrowed down perspective of the bigger picture for the entire country’s economy. Having helped craft 13 out of the 39 budget laws while he was in and out of the DBM in his public service career, Diokno spoke from experience and authority.

Much worse, the DBM itself got ousted from attending and was not even allowed to participate in the deliberations of the bicameral conference committee, or bicam for short. Otherwise known as the ‘third congress,’ the bicam is composed supposedly of equal numbers of senators and House members. They are supposed to reconcile and consolidate the amendments each chamber made to the original DBM version of the GAA/NEP.

The bicam holds its meeting behind closed doors, away from the prying eyes of the press, to conduct the horse-trading and wheeling-and-dealing among lawmakers.

So much more powerful than the bicam, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco earlier revealed, is a ‘small committee’ that actually makes the ultimate pass upon the GAA/NEP. Composed of the Senate president, the Speaker, the Senate finance committee chairperson and the House appropriations committee chief, Tiangco pointed to this ‘small committee’ as the one that gives the go-signal for the approval of the GAA/NEP in plenary sessions of the Senate and at the House.

This came out during the series of Senate and congressional hearings that followed after the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (PBBM). It was at this SONA at the 20th Congress last July 28 when PBBM lashed out at how the 2025 GAA was mangled beyond recognition. PBBM particularly ranted against the ‘initiatives, insertions, errata, SOP’ that went into this year’s budget. Approved by the defunct 19th Congress, many of these lawmakers got re-elected to the present 20th Congress.

In the on-going Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing on the reported ‘ghost’ flood control projects, its current but now resigned chairman, comebacking Senator Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson, noted with concern there was no indication at all that RDCs were consulted. Now Senate President Pro Tempore, Lacson vowed to resume his advocacy for BUB and other budget reforms which he did in Congresses past.

As a profound learning from the discovered anomalies that went into the 2025 GAA, the Senate vows to scrap unprogrammed appropriations starting with the 2026 budget. While it’s too early to tell if the Senate can do this, it can stir up national debate on how to defund sources of corruption in the Congress-approved budget laws. The annual budget process has become fertile ground for the maleficent initiatives and indiscriminate insertions.

Under the guise of amendments to the proposed GAA bill, the congressional hocus-pocus will, however, become more difficult from hereon. The sticky hands among lawmakers will now have to contend with Lacson and like-minded senators.

A few days or several weeks after the SONA each year, the President usually convenes the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC). Both the executive branch represented by the President and Cabinet officials and the leaders of Congress agree on their common administration and legislative priority bills.

It was only last Sept. 30, or more than two months after the SONA, that PBBM finally convened the LEDAC at Malacañang Palace. It was attended by the new set of leaders in both chambers of the 20th Congress. Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III and Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III of Isabela met with PBBM.

The Congress leadership changes came in the aftermath of the 2025 GAA brouhaha.

Fortuitously perhaps, the LEDAC meeting got delayed. Or, has PBBM shifted to dark mode in these last three years of his term? His worst enemies can only speculate what he is up to, or how soon he will strike back.

Customers of utility giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) are likely to see higher power rates this October amid a potential jump in generation charges.

‘While we are still waiting for some billings from our suppliers to finalize the October electricity rate, indications point to a possible increase in generation charge this month,’ Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga announced yesterday.

The generation charge, which accounts for over half of the electricity bill, covers the cost of power purchased by Meralco from energy suppliers and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

Zaldarriaga said the weakening of the peso against the greenback pushed up charges from Meralco’s suppliers, whose costs are largely dollar-denominated.

‘We are hopeful that these possible increases will be tempered by lower WESM prices as reported by IEMOP (Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines),’ he said.

System-wide WESM rates decreased by 33.8 percent to P3.04 per kilowatt-hour in September from the previous month’s P4.59 per kWh. This marks the lowest level in seven months or since February’s P2.73 per kWh.

Meralco sourced around six percent of its energy requirements last month from WESM. Power supply agreements and independent power producers accounted for 65 percent and 29 percent, respectively.

The company intends to announce its actual rate adjustment on Friday.

As the country’s largest power utility, Meralco serves over eight million customers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue has faced challenges in serving official notices to the companies of contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya, as they were “uncooperative,” Internal Revenue Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said.

Lumagui said this when asked why the tax evasion case against the contractor couple was filed only this year, despite the bureau having audited them since last year, saying that the couple sometimes refused to accept the bureau’s documents.

“Nahihirapan tayo dahil medyo pasaway rin. Binibigyan natin ng due process. Minsan ‘di nila tinatanggap ang mga notices. Kaya nagreresort tayo sa iba’t ibang paraan para maiserve ito,” he said in an interview with reporters on Wednesday, October 8.

(We’re having a hard time because they’re being quite uncooperative [or ‘defiant’]. We are giving them due process. Sometimes they don’t accept the notices, so we have to resort to different methods to get them served.)

“Ang proseso na pinagdadaanan ay hindi rin naman puwedeng i-shortcut ‘yon,” he added.

(The process being undergone cannot be simply shortened.)

The tax chief also said that even if the Discaya couple paid their tax liabilities, the case would still continue, as the act of tax evasion is already consummated, according to Lumagui.

Lumagui also said that even if the individuals were to become state witnesses, they would still be required to pay their tax liabilities, emphasizing that this payment is separate and does not count as restitution for the criminal offense.

“So kahit bayaran ‘yan, patuloy pa rin ang magiging criminal case na tutuloy pa rin ang pagtakbo ng criminal case,” he added.

(As far as the BIR is concerned, the tax evasion case is already consummated. Therefore, even if it is paid, the criminal case will still continue and proceed to run its course.)

Lumagui, in his capacity as Internal Revenue Commissioner, filed multiple criminal tax evasion complaints against the couple and another corporate officer of St. Gerrard Construction General Contractor and Development Corp.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue assessed a total tax liability of P7,182,172,532.25, stemming from unpaid income, excise and documentary stamp taxes from 2018 to 2021.

The construction and infrastructure companies associated with the Discaya couple secured a massive P31.04 billion in government contracts, encompassing approximately 421 projects awarded between 2022 and 2024.

These deals primarily involved flood control projects that are currently the subject of anomaly allegations.

Notably, the firms founded solely by the Discayas accounted for P25.2 billion of that value across 345 projects.

The Independent Commission on Infrastructure asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday to issue an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order for 31 individuals.

The request targets over two dozen current and former lawmakers and officials involved in the ongoing probe into anomalous public works projects.

The brazen corruption surrounding flood control and infrastructure projects is like acid poured on the nation’s wounds. It lays bare how government officials squander hard-earned taxes for personal gain while showing no regard for the people’s welfare. They put millions of Filipinos and their livelihoods in peril to floods while laughing all the way to the bank.

Yet, rather than wielding the full force of the presidency to hold the guilty to account and plug the loopholes in the system, President Marcos has met the scandal with a misplaced reliance on a toothless commission – the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI).

Weak leadership

The Filipino people would have wanted the President to match its rage (which he professed to share) with decisive actions. These were the steps expected of him:

First, immediately suspend persons of interest – not just contractors and middle-rank DPWH executives, but legislators as well. Any official under credible suspicion should have been relieved of duty pending investigation, not protected by political shields.

Second, the ombudsman and DOJ should have been strengthened and granted full operational autonomy to pursue cases without political interference.

Third, the assets of all persons of interest should have been frozen to prevent laundering or concealment, alongside the swift issuance of hold-departure orders.

Fourth, the President should have directed that hearings of the ombudsman and DOJ be made public, broadcast live and completed within a fixed timeframe.

Fifth, Congress should have been pressed to expedite the enactment of structural reforms (which I outlined last week) to ensure that institutional plunder never happens again.

This is not what we got. From the outset, President Marcos’ response to the scandal has been marked more by emotion than action. Shedding tears on camera may have struck a chord with some, but it revealed a deeper problem – a leader who confuses symbolic grief with decisive governance. Crying over corruption does not dismantle the machinery that enables it nor does it hold the perpetrators to account.

Rather than immediately suspending implicated officials, freezing assets, imposing hold-departure orders and empowering state prosecutors to pursue cases swiftly, the President chose a timid middle ground – the creation of the ICI.

Granted, the ICI can play a role in investigation, but the snail’s pace of its investigations will allow plunderers to cover their tracks and conceal their ill-gotten wealth. It allows the guilty to build their defenses around legalese. It grants corrupt officials the time to intimidate whistleblowers and manipulate documentation. Worse, by relying on hearings and endless ‘fact-finding’ meetings, the ICI’s final report could arrive in months – if not years – way after public anger has waned. This is the classic formula of inaction disguised as accountability.

A toothless ICI, lacking credibility

The ICI may issue subpoenas and recommend suspensions, but beyond that, it has no bite. It has no power to prosecute, arrest or hold anyone in contempt. It can request bank records and testimonies – but cannot compel compliance when the powerful refuse. Instead, it must rely on the cooperation of the very officials it is supposed to investigate. This is not a commission of accountability, it is theater. The ICI projects the illusion of action while giving plunderers a window to escape culpability. In effect, it is an advisory body masquerading as an accountability mechanism.

Barely four weeks since its creation and the ICI has already lost credibility. The resignation of Mayor Benjie Magalong as special adviser and investigator was a serious blow. Magalong gave the ICI a semblance of independence and credibility. His decision to step down, citing doubts over the body’s mandate and independence, signals that the ICI is compromised.

Unfortunately, the personalities left at the helm do not inspire confidence. Chairman Andy Reyes, a retired Supreme Court justice, is viewed by critics as overly cautious and steeped in proceduralism – the kind that allows cases to languish for years. His deferential stance towards the accused makes us uncomfortable, as if he owes them a debt of gratitude.

Rodolfo Azurin Jr., the former PNP chief tapped as Magalong’s replacement, left the police service under a cloud of criticism over the 2022 shabu heist and alleged cover-up. His appointment raises questions about whether the ICI is meant to investigate wrongdoing or to protect political allies.

More disturbing is that the ICI has nothing to show even after four weeks in operation. No high level suspensions, no frozen contracts, no new whistleblower testimonies. In other words, no urgency. Meanwhile, those implicated were given precious weeks to conceal evidence, launder money and tighten political defenses.

The very design of the ICI reveals weakness on the President’s part. Instead of actually being in control, he has effectively outsourced the fight against corruption to a commission ill-equipped to handle entrenched interests.

And by allowing the ICI to take the lead, Marcos positions himself as someone ‘waiting for findings,’ thereby avoiding personal accountability. The ICI serves as a convenient shield. This is not the kind of leadership we need, nor deserve, at this time.

Government is failing us again. Now the burden now falls on the public. Civil society, investigative journalists and watchdog groups must demand transparency at every stage of the investigation. Closed-door hearings, selective leaks or sanitized reports will only protect the guilty. We have seen this happen before.

The proceedings must be broadcasted live, documentary evidence must be made public and the timelines strictly adhered to. Only constant public pressure can prevent the ICI from becoming another shield for the powerful – a smokescreen that hides corruption instead of exposing it.

It’s not too late. Marcos can still course-correct. We hope he rises to the occasion – leading the investigation, restitution, prosecution and structural reforms with the iron hand this crisis demands.

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) will lead an investigation into the alleged anomalies in flood control projects and related infrastructure, Malacañang said.

Palace Press Secretary Claire Castro said that despite the appointment of former Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla as Ombudsman, the ICI will not be abolished, as it will focus on the alleged anomalies in flood control projects.

“Ang Ombudsman kasi hindi lamang po tutok ito sa flood control projects. Marami pong kaso na dapat pagtuunan ng pansin ang Ombudsman. So, hindi po natin nakikitaan na ito ang dahilan upang gibain or wakasan ang trabaho ng ICI,” Castro said in a press briefing with reporters on Wednesday, October 8.

(The Ombudsman is not solely focused on flood control projects. The Ombudsman has many cases that need attention. Therefore, we don’t see this as a reason to dismantle or end the work of the ICI.)

Castro explained that relying solely on the Ombudsman may take a long time to finish a single case, and with the ICI’s help, the prosecution of individuals may be expedited.

“Kailangan po talaga na may isang independent commission na siyang tututok at magkukolekta, mag-iimbestiga ng mga dokumento para po kapag naibigay po ito at mairekomenda for filing, rirebyuhin na lamang po ito,” Castro said.

“At kung tapos na po ang pagri-review at nakitang mayroon dapat na sampahan ng kaso, mas mabilis magsasampa ng kaso ang DOJ at ng Ombudsman,” she added.

Up to ICI for their transparency. Castro also said that it is up to the ICI to determine how they will ensure transparency in the flood control probe.

“Tama po. Ang Pangulo po, sa lahat ng mga pagkakataon gusto may transparency. Sa lahat ng pag-iimbestiga dapat may transparency, walang tinatago,” Castro said.

(That is correct. The President, at all times, wants transparency. In all investigations, there must be transparency; nothing should be hidden.)

“Pero kung paano po ito gagawin ng ICI, kung papaano po ito maisasapubliko, kung papaano po sila magiging transparent at hanggang saan, nasa ICI na po iyan. But still, ang Pangulo po ay sinusulong din po ang transparency sa lahat ng pag-iimbestiga,” she added.

(However, how the ICI will do this, how they will make it public, how they will be transparent, and to what extent, that is up to the ICI. But still, the President is also pushing for transparency in all investigations.)

On Wednesday, October 8, the ICI asked the Department of Justice to issue immigration lookout bulletins on 31 government officials.

The request targets over two dozen current and former lawmakers and officials involved in the ongoing probe into anomalous public works projects.