By Brian Campued
The independent commission being established to probe alleged anomalies in flood control projects will be entirely free from the influence of any groups or individuals, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said, stressing that the fact-finding team will be composed solely of technical experts and not politicians.
During the Kapihan with the Media before departing Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Tuesday, the President said that he will soon announce the members of the commission, along with its mandate, “before the end of the week.”
“Within the next 48 hours, I will already announce the powers that we are granting to the independent commission and the members of the independent commission,” Marcos said.
“We have made very sure that they are in fact independent, truly independent. So, walang pulitiko diyan, puro imbestigador, abogado. It’s a technical exercise,” he added.
The Chief Executive underscored that the independent body will examine all the allegations made by individuals involved in the issue—as contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya as well as district engineers of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) disclosed in separate hearings of the Senate and the House of Representatives names of lawmakers whom they alleged to have links to systemic corruption in flood control projects.
Lamenting that illegal practices have been normalized for decades, the President vowed to put an end to corruption, particularly in the DPWH, which handles major infrastructure projects of the government.
“Kailangan masalimuot at detalyado ang ating magiging imbestigasyon at para matingnan. And ‘yan ang magiging trabaho ngayon ng ating independent commission,” he said.
“Kasi kagaya nang nasabi ko noon, ang talagang… Dapat malaman kung paano tayo nagkaganito. How did we get to this terrible point where all of these actuations—ito ‘yung mga kickback, lahat ‘yang mga pinag-uusapan natin—naging institutionalized, naging normal?” he added.
While the commission needs to have subpoena power to compel people to testify and provide information, Marcos underscored that it should not be authorized to contempt an individual.
“This is an investigative commission. So, they are not there to actually mete out punishment to whoever. They are there to find out the facts,” he said.
“We have to be very, very clear that the independent commission is in fact independent. That… no one who has an interest in these cases will be allowed to participate except as a witness,” he added.
The team’s findings and recommendations will then be submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the Office of the Ombudsman for appropriate legal action.
-jpv
