November 21, 2025 | 2:26pm
MANILA, Philippines — The Independent Commission for Infrastructure will livestream all its hearings on YouTube or Facebook starting next week, Executive Director Brian Hosaka announced Friday, November 21.
Livestreaming will be the default for all proceedings unless someone requests a closed-door session, Hosaka said at a press conference.
The commission released guidelines Friday requiring media outlets to apply for broadcast access and commit to covering the entirety of all upcoming proceedings. It noted: “No selective or partial coverage shall be allowed.”
Media that violate the rules risk immediate suspension or revocation of their applications, and could face legal sanctions, according to the guidelines signed by ICI Commissioners Andres Reyes Jr., Rogelio Singson and Rossana Fajardo.
The ICI can grant closed sessions if government agencies investigating infrastructure anomalies—the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Ombudsman, Department of Justice, Philippine National Police or National Bureau of Investigation—request it. Witnesses and resource persons can also ask for executive sessions, which will not be broadcast.
The commission will approve these requests only if they have “sufficient factual and legal bases” and aren’t intended to delay or obstruct investigations.
Protecting witnesses, sources
The guidelines say the ICI can pixelate witnesses’ faces, mute audio or redact documents to protect confidential sources or comply with laws on witness protection and national security.
The commission will control all recording equipment. No panning or zooming will be allowed to “avoid unduly highlighting or downplaying incidents in the proceedings,” following Supreme Court guidelines from high-profile cases.
Media outlets must provide their own hardware to connect to the ICI feed and keep access encrypted at all times.
Repeat broadcasts are banned without written ICI approval, except for brief clips and still images for news purposes.
The guidelines cite constitutional provisions guaranteeing public access to government transactions while pointing out exceptions for information that could endanger lives, disclose confidential sources, or compromise ongoing investigations.
The ICI, created through an executive order on September 11, investigates anomalies, irregularities and fund misuse in flood control and infrastructure projects nationwide.
Based on its findings, the commission recommends criminal, civil or administrative cases to the Office of the Ombudsman. It has so far produced five reports containing recommended charges and initial findings based on various flood control projects.