An independent commission to fight corruption

After watching the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing which convened to investigate the anomalies at the DPWH, especially the flood control projects, I have become more convinced that the investigation should be undertaken by an independent commission as recommended by President BBM.

After watching the infra-comm in the House of Representatives hearing on the same issue, I became even more convinced for the need for an independent commission.

The Senate hearing was controversial before it even began. The Blue Ribbon committee chairman Rodante Marcoleta accused Sen. Panfilo Lacson of trying to usurp his authority when Lacson made a privilege speech prior to the hearing and made a series of exposés which obviously was meant intentionally or unintentionally to overshadow the Blue Ribbon hearings. Marcoleta also publicly criticized Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, who proposed that an independent commission investigate the DPWH corruption, rather than the Blue Ribbon committee.

Perhaps the most glaring negative perception of the hearing was that two senators who were committee members were part of the group of senators whom the Comelec, according to Comelec Chairman George Garcia, were being investigated for receiving campaign donations from contractors. Section 95 of the Omnibus Election Code bans contractors and subcontractors who provide goods or services to the government from donating to the election campaigns of the candidates.

We are all waiting for Garcia to fulfill his commitment to publicize his findings on the three or four senators who are being investigated for receiving campaign donations from contractors.

It was a surreal scene watching two of these senators being investigated and yet attending the Blue Ribbon committee hearing where they expressed “outrage” at the contractors who were attending the hearings.

In the House hearings, Chel Diokno showed us why his candidacy was worth fighting for. In the middle of the heated hearing, he made a motion that members of the investigating committee should first submit their financial status reports and pecuniary interests to prove that they have no conflict of interest with the contractors.

There were both light and tense moments during both hearings. One comic interlude was when Sen. Bato de la Rosa insisted that contractor Sarah Discaya reveal to the committee at what year they started getting flood control projects. He insisted that Discaya be precise about the exact date since that was the beginning of her accumulation of wealth. When Discaya answered that she got her first contract in the year 2016, de la Rosa immediately kept quiet and one could see he was not sure how to continue his interpellation. After all, 2016 was the year Rodrigo Roa Duterte became president.

A tense moment was when Cong. Toby Tiangco raised the issue that Cong. Zaldy Co should be invited to testify during a future hearing about the bicam and the small committee where the insertions in the budget were supposedly entered.

President BBM must realize that his legacy is now dependent on the outcome of the investigation by the independent commission he has proposed.

The composition of the panel will determine its success. My own personal recommendation is that he appoints non-government officials and non-politicians. I would recommend members from the following sectors: technocrats and business, education, religious, public affairs and international awardees, Supreme Court justices. Here is a list of names that can form the pool of individuals with impeccable integrity and expertise:

Technocrats: Rogelio “Babes” Singson, former DPWH secretary

Business Leaders: Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala; Manny V. Pangilinan

Civic Leader: Ramon del Rosario Jr.

Education: Br. Bernie Oca, president, De la Salle University; Sr. Mary John Mananzan, OSB, president, St. Scholastica’s Academy, Pampanga; Aurelio Montinola III, chair, Far Eastern University

Religious: Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, Bishop of Kalookan; Socrates Villegas OP, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop of Pangasinan

Public Affairs: Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize awardee; Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, SVD, Ramon Magsaysay awardee.

Supreme Court justices: Adolfo Azcuna; Conchita Carpio Morales; Antonio Carpio.

The independent commission should be provided with adequate budget so they can contract necessary experts to assist in the investigation, like forensic investigators, lawyers and engineers. They should also have the power to subpoena witnesses and resource persons and cite in contempt those persons who refuse to attend commission hearings.

The riots in Indonesia should serve as a warning to our politicians that a population, especially the youth, can rise in protest if they ever feel exceedingly frustrated.

This commission to investigate the DPWH can serve as a start of an all-out war on graft and corruption. We should stop thinking or accepting that corruption is embedded in Filipino culture. We have a country rich in natural resources and a people highly competent and globally competitive. The only obstacle to erasing poverty and making this country the second richest country in Asia as we once were, is by eliminating corruption. Yes, we can do it.

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