By now, it should be obvious to anyone but the dense, legally and mentally, that the decision for the so-called Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to hold hearings behind closed doors has been a mistake.
And the three-person ICI will pay dearly for it – in terms of credibility, acceptability of its decisions and in the popular outrage ICI will trigger in case the public does not perceive its recommendations for prosecution are the most guilty.
In the public mind, fairly or rightly, the most guilty are: former House speaker Martin Romualdez and former Senate president Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero (both for their leadership roles in Congress which they converted into a colossal criminal syndicate); former House appropriations committee chair Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co (for running away with P86 billion of taxpayers’ money); DPWH engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza (for being the top DPWH leaders in facilitating the P1-trillion flood-gate scam) and contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya for running away with P207 billion of taxpayers’ money.
In banking, you can parlay or lend a P207-billion cash deposit six to seven times, or a gearing ratio equivalent to P1.242 trillion to P1.449 trillion.
The Discayas are trillionaires by any measure – unlike one self-made Filipino billionaire who had to bribe a complicit assessor to inflate his assets to over one trillion just so he could declare himself a trillionaire.
The Discayas’ trillions make them bigger than the 11th to 40th biggest Philippine banks in terms of assets or resources, or bigger than 75 percent of all our banks. Only 10 Philippine banks have P1 trillion in assets. The Discayas are also bigger than all the 41 thrift or savings banks in the Philippines.
I ask ICI: Can you build a case of thievery against a trillionaire? Nah.
If any or all of the most guilty people are let go in terms of being given deals like witness protection (meaning immunity from suit or penalty), restitution in whole or in part of their stolen wealth, the political equivalent of a reprimand, or any kind of deal that looks like a slap on the wrist – people will be outraged to the hilt. People will suffer from haemolacria, crying for blood.
In Asia, death is imposed for corruption in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. In ASEAN, death penalty for corruption is de rigueur or the norm or standard. Here in the Philippines, the penalty for corruption is – due process. Ask the Supreme Court or the Senate under Chiz Escudero.
Based on the latest Sept. 25-30, 2025 survey of OCTA Research, a clear majority of the 1,200 respondents (60 percent) of Filipinos are outraged and frustrated over corruption in government infrastructure projects, particularly flood control.
Another 30 percent expressed fear or anxiety, reflecting concern about the impact of corruption on government performance and service delivery. Also, nine percent reported feelings of sadness or disappointment.
Filipinos want any or all of the following to result from the investigations:
Holding corrupt officials and contractors accountable (68 percent);
Recovery of lost or misused public funds (58 percent);
Imprisonment of those proven guilty (58 percent);
Ensuring efficient implementation of quality flood control projects (41 percent);
Strengthening transparency and monitoring of government infrastructure projects (34 percent).
About 83 percent back President BBM’s opening the flood-gate of corruption. But they want strong accountability measures, the prosecution and imprisonment of those proven guilty, recovery of stolen funds and genuine institutional reforms to ensure that future infrastructure projects are transparent, efficient and corruption-free.
Only 46 percent believe that an independent commission of credible individuals from the private sector – such as the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) – is the most suitable body to lead the investigation into the flood control scandal.
This finding, says OCTA, reflects a strong public preference for a credible, impartial and nonpolitical inquiry into corruption allegations. ICI enjoys high trust levels in the National Capital Region (60 percent) and among Class ABC (63 percent).
The Senate ranks second, with 23 percent of adult Filipinos identifying it as the most appropriate institution to lead the probe.
OCTA says the strong support for an external, integrity-based commission underscores the public’s skepticism toward political institutions and highlights the need for new, transparent mechanisms of accountability that can restore public confidence in the government’s anti-corruption efforts.
Meanwhile, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. chairman and president Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP) warned the nation’s top financial executives (FINEX) Oct. 10, worsening corruption in government could stall economic growth, shatter investor trust and risk downgrading the country’s credit rating.
‘Investor confidence could get affected. I think they’re slowly getting affected by this particular event. Perhaps even credit ratings, too, could be at risk if the institution’s responses are seen to be inadequate,’ MVP, himself a top finance man, said.
‘When cash of the magnitude of budget insertions – they say as much as P1 trillion – are taken out of the pockets of the many who are poor and diverted to the wallets of the few, the economy will indeed suffer, as the stock exchange has indeed suffered these past three weeks,’ he warned.
The stock market has shed 1.5 to 1.8 percent of its market value in recent weeks.
In credit ratings, per Standard and Poor’s rates, the Philippines at BBB+ with a positive outlook – a step away from the coveted ‘A’ grade. Pangilinan frets that complacency and weak institutional action could easily reverse that progress.
‘It isn’t just about catching crooks,’ MVP said. ‘It’s filling the gaps with financial experts with the competence and integrity. Corruption survives not because bad people are smart, but because good people are absent.’
‘The public is now increasingly aware that the presence of ethical attributes – or their absence – impacts businesses and the economy seriously,’ said MVP.