Some 20 business groups, representing the country’s major business organizations, today, Dec. 10, issued an urgent appeal for the Senate to immediately pass the bill creating the Independent People’s Commission (IPC).
Likewise, the groups urge the House of Representatives to act without delay on the counterpart measure establishing the Independent Commission Against Infrastructure Corruption (ICAIC). To emphasize urgency of the measure, the groups also want President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to certify as urgent the bills, which seek to empower the commission with full powers to prosecute corrupt practices.
“Our country urgently needs a far more empowered, broad-based, and truly independent anti-corruption body—one that is equipped with the mandate and authority that the current Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) does not possess,” the groups said in a joint statement.
“A fully empowered IPC or ICAIC will strengthen the capacity of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice to pursue corruption cases more effectively and restore credibility to the pursuit of integrity in public service.”
At present, the ICI functions only in an advisory capacity. It may request the presence of resource persons and recommend courses of action—whether the filing of charges, the seizure of assets, or the issuance of hold-departure orders—but it cannot act decisively on its own.
The proposed IPC or ICAIC, in contrast, will have full investigative and prosecutorial powers. It will be able to conduct comprehensive probes into allegations of corruption in government projects; file administrative and criminal cases against erring public officials, employees, and private sector partners; and recommend needed reforms in our laws, systems, and institutions. At a time when blatant and widespread misuse of public funds has eroded confidence in our institutions, the group said the “nation is confronting a profound crisis of public trust.”
“The Filipino people deserve nothing less than the full truth. A truly independent IPC or ICAIC will guarantee transparency and accountability—no cover-up, no sacred cow, no political maneuvering. It will safeguard the people’s money and help rebuild the people’s trust that is essential to a healthy democracy,” the statment concluded.
Signing the statements are Bankers Association of the Philippines, Cebu Business Club, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cebu Leads Foundation, Connected Women, Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of acommerce and Industry Inc., Federation of Philippine Industries, Philippine CEO Circle, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Fintech alliance Philippines, Institute for Solidarity in Asia, Institute of Corporate Directors, Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, NextGen Organization of Women Corporate Directors, People Managment Association of the Philippines, Philippine Association of Securities Brokers and Dealers Inc., Philippine Women’s Economic Network, Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines, and UP School of Economics Alumni Association.
